Although once a well-known Rembrandt, there is now a strong consensus that this canvas was painted about 1654–55 by his pupil, Willem Drost (1633–1659). The female type, the drawing of facial features, and the painterly execution of the costume are characteristic of Drost. The subject (which is rare in Northern Europe) and composition appear to have been inspired by a recent Italian example such as Domenichino"s Cumaean Sibyl of 1616–17 in the Galleria Borghese, Rome. Drost worked in Italy from 1655 until his early death.