The painting was exhibited in a museum in Graz at the beginning of the 20th century and was believed to be a copy after Leonardo. After its sale, it fell into obscurity. A prominent art historian from the University of Leipzig, Ernst Ullmann, who specialized in Leonardo, had researched one of Leonardo's major works, the Virgin of the Rocks in the Louvre and the National Gallery in London. Together with the Viennese restorer Ernst Lux, he was able to prove that it is the original version - the Concetto - of the painting.