A pupil of Jacob Adriaensz. Backer, Jan van Noordt also appears to have had access to Rembrandt’s studio early in his career. Here he bases his composition partly on a painting of the same theme by Rembrandt’s teacher Pieter Lastman. However, the undulating curves, sweeping and dynamic poses, and the sensuous display of flesh reveal the influence of Flemish artists such as Pieter Paul Rubens and Jacob Jordaens, following a fashion in Amsterdam that competed with the work of Rembrandt.