Pedro Orrente Murcia 1580 - 1645 Valencia

Collection of Don José de Madrazo y Agudo (1781-1859), Madrid, by 1856, no. 402;
Don José de Salamanca y Mayol (1811-1883), 1st Marques of Salamanca, Madrid, from whom acquired by the forebears of the present owners.

Catálogo de la Galería de Cuadros del Excmo. Sr. D. José de Madrazo, Madrid 1856, p. 97, no. 402;
D. Angulo Iñiguez and A. E. Pérez Sánchez, Historia de la pintura española: Escuela toledana de la primera mitad del s.XVII, Madrid, 1972, p. 265.

This picture originally formed part of a set of three works by Orrente, illustrating The Story of Noah and The Great Flood, in the collection of Don José Madrazo, Madrid, during the mid-19th century. The other two scenes, of the same dimensions and numbered 403 and 404 within the collection, represented The Entrance of the Animals into the Ark and The Great Flood.

Don José Madrazo y Agudo was a distinguished painter in his own right. He became Director of the Museo del Prado and owned an important library and collection of Old Master Paintings.