This is the earliest signed and dated painting by Breenbergh and so is a key for our knowledge of his early years in Italy. He had arrived in Rome late in 1619 and was to remain there for ten years. This exquisite small copper panel displays the profound profound influence on the young Breenbergh of Jacob Pynas, who had left Rome to return to Holland in 1608 but whose influence on young Dutch artists was still pervasive. The antique building on the rocky hillside on the right is the Temple of the Sibyl at Tivoli, which was often drawn by Northern artist, including Breenbergh. Blankert compares the painting to the signed "Christ and Mary" in a Dutch private collection (Roethlisberger 1981, no. 65), which is very close in style to this painting and to this painting and must dated from the same point in Breenbergh's early career. Hallwyl museum inventory number: XXXII:B.82.