 Although not originally painted as a religious picture, this painting became popularized as an image of the Virgin Mary holding her infant son, and has become the most renowned of Ferruzzi's works.The original painting made its first appearance at an art exhibition in Venice in 1897.John George Alexander Leishman, steel millionaire and diplomat, who died in 1924 in France, bought the painting but not the reproduction rights; he is the last known owner.