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Dossi executed this painting for the chapel of Pontichino delle Sale, in the Cathedral of Ferrara. The panel once bore a date (1527) and a dedicatory inscription, now vanished but recorded by Baruffaldi (1697-1730) as reading "A Christi Nativitate anno MDXXVII Kal Mensis Martii". At the feet of Saint Bartholemew a monogram signature is still visible: reading "S.B.D.", it was once regarded as a sign of the participation of Dosso Dossi's brother Giovanni Battista. The painting was brought to Rome in 1597 and later entered the collection of Cardinal Flavio Chigi. Its presence at the Chigi Palace in the Piazza Santi Apostoli is recorded in that family's inventories.
The identification of the figure in the left margin of the composition as Duke Ercole I d'Este of Ferrara is confirmed by the close similarity of his facial features to those of a portrait of Ercole I now in the Gallery of Modena. In the Modena portrait, the Duke is shown wearing a plaquette of St John: his association with the same saint is repeated in by their juxtaposition in the Palazzo Barberini picture. The other figure to the left, shown in profile, has been identified as the donor, Pontichino delle Sale, a fact recorded by Baruffaldi. The work, which was transferred to canvas and then remounted on a panel, is not in ideal condition.
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