It is a mid-to-late 15th century imitation of the work of the Early Netherlandish master Jan van Eyck, possibly after a now-lost original painting by him from 1433 - another copy of the same work is now in the Colegiata church in Covarrubias, Spain.

It was acquired from the Weld-Blundell family by the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) in Melbourne in 1922 using funds from the Felton Bequest.

The inscription on the wall at top left reads: "COPLETV ANO D M CCCC XXXIIJ P IOHEM DE EYC BRVGIS".

This translates as "Completed in the Year of Our Lord 1433 by Jan van Eyck, Bruges".

Sneyers at the IRPA in Belgium,[3] an infrared spectroscopy study in 2003[4] and other features have all contributed to its de-attribution.