Focus on this artwork and analyze the Provenance.
By 1627 the painting belonged to William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke (1580-1630), and was at Wilton House in Wiltshire. Either the 3rd or 4th earl presented it to King Charles I of England.  After the English Civil War it was sold in one of the sales of the Royal Collection at Somerset House in  London on 19 December 1651.  Soon after it was in France. The painting was later a highlight of the Pierre Crozat collection which was acquired through Diderot's mediation by Catherine II of Russia in 1772. For a century and a half, the panel hung in the Imperial Hermitage Museum. It was one of the most popular paintings in the entire collection of the Tsars. In March 1931 it was part of the Soviet sale of Hermitage paintings, and bought by Andrew Mellon, as part of his founding donation to the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. This and other foundational artworks, including paintings by Jan van Eyck, Sandro Botticelli, and Titian, helped place the National Gallery among the most significant collections of Renaissance art.
National Gallery of Art Somerset House Hermitage Museum Sandro Botticelli Pierre Crozat Soviet sale of Hermitage paintings Jan van Eyck Titian Andrew Mellon William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke Diderot Wiltshire Royal Collection Catherine II of Russia National Gallery Charles I of England English Civil War Wilton House