It has been suggested that this fine work, with its rich colors and soft, tonal modeling of the fleshtones, was painted by the young Sebastiano del Piombo. A contemporary of Titian and almost his equal in talent, Sebastiano was an important presence in Venice before his departure for Rome in 1510. If this painting is by him, it must be one of his earliest, as the composition is slightly awkward, and lacks the sophistication of his later, certain work.

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