Giuseppe de Gobbis was a principal follower of Pietro Longhi and a leading painter in Venice, winning the prize at the Venetian Academy in 1774 for his Imprisonment of Samson. His works, reflecting the theatrical elegance of Venetian society, are at once humorous and lively with a strongly narrative content. He was widely commissioned to paint works for Venice’s numerous religious fraternities, including The Vision of Saint Anthony of Padua in the church of Saint Barbara and a Flight into Egypt in the Church of the Piet. A version of the present composition and its companion Il Ridotto is in the San Diego Museum of Art, California.