 The painting was clearly designed for a specific location, presumably in one of the various Vendramin palaces in Venice, perhaps on a stairway.The lighting and very low vanishing point suggest that the primary viewing point was anticipated to be at the left of the canvas, with the lower edge at about head height.The painting remained in Venice until at least 1636 when it was bought by Anthony van Dyck who was painter at the court of Charles I.