This was carried out during the artist's stay in Rome in Palazzo Farnese (1570-72), and reveals the influence exerted on him by the antiquarianism of Clovio and the Orsini. The theme of the young man blowing on the fire is probably due to Orsini himself, and refers to a painting by Antiphylos, celebrated by Pliny in his Naturalis Historia for its splendid play of light. The classical model is given a Veneto treatment by the artist, with influence from Titian and Tintoretto, and, as far as its genre theme and nocturnal setting go, from Bassano; it takes place in an overtly visionary atmosphere, half-way between an experimental study and a 'fabula', pregnant with allegorical and proverbial implications.