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In 1509 Pope Julius II commissioned Donato Bramante to construct a rectangular structure within the basilica of Santa Maria to enclose the Santa Casa (Holy House).
The sculpture of the Holy House comprises in all twenty figures in niches and nine exceptionally large marble panels carved in a horizontal format in high relief depicting scenes from the Life of the Virgin.
Most of the marble statues in the series of prophets were executed by Girolamo Lombardo and his brother Aurelio Lombardo (1501-1561). The precise contribution of each brother is still debated. The statues of Balaam and Isaiah were contributed by Tomaso and Giovanni Battista della Porta, respectively.
The statues of the seated prophets are placed in niches in the lower section of the walls of the casing, beneath the niches containing standing figures of sibyls.
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