The author of the painting is Francesco da Ponte, from Bassano del Grappa near Venice, who lived and worked in Veneto in the 16th century. The painting is a rare example of a 16th century nocturnal and is totally based on the contrast between light and shadow. It represents an interior with women who are carrying out typically feminine crafts (cooking, spinning, embroidery ...) and a boy who feeds the fire in the foreground. It is believed that it most likely belongs to a series depicting the four seasons, of which it symbolizes winter. The night light inside the painting allows an accurate study of light and colors. On the left side of the background there are two people, while on the right side, in an unreal landscape, a man is praying to Heaven and in the dark sky a celestial light comes on and shows a child.