The painting was one of the first purchases made by the famous Brescia collector Paolo Tosio, who had recently begun to compose his collection. The dating - fixed by scholars, on the stylistic bases, to the years 1505/1506 - places the tablet in the last years spent in Urbino by the young Raphael, before his transfer to Florence. In those years the artist painted small-sized works of great stylistic refinement, destined for private devotion and densely characterized by references to classicism, in line with the culture of the Urbino court, one of the main centers in Italy of elaboration and propagation of 'Humanism. The figure of Christ is placed in the foreground against a slightly hinted landscape background. The royal red cloth, the crown of thorns, the hand brought to the side and the gesture of blessing define the sacredness of the figure and determine its religious message.