Artists tended to paint on metal if they wanted the smoothest possible surface and thus finish. The technique was popular in the Low Countries.

Godfried Schalcken (who signed work both with and without the "c" in his surname) won his reputation with candlelight scenes often of coquettish young women. In the 1660s he returned to Dordrecht which remained the centre of his activity until 1691, when he settled in The Hague, spending six years in London where he painted a half-length of William III in armour seen by candlelight.

Schalcken was justly proud of his candlelight scenes. When contacted by an agent of the Grand Duke Cosimo de' Medici for a self-portrait for the duke's gallery of artists' portraits he stated that he was skilled in painting both day and night scenes but he would recommend a self-portrait by candlelight. In the event, the duke commissioned one which is still at the Uffizi. The Elector Palatine Johann Wilhelm purchased several of Schalcken's paintings and it seems that the artist accepted the elector's invitation to work for him at his court in Düsseldorf in 1702. After his death Schalcken was eagerly collected; most important picture collections formed during the eighteenth century contained some of his work.

The girl in the painting is so similar to a museum-piece Schalcken "Girl eating an apple" as to give the impression that the same model was used. However the cracking on the painting is typical C19 rather than that seen on C17 oils.