Two half-length figures; the man, on the left, is bearded and wears armour. He is holding gloves in his left hand and turning towards the girl on the right, who holds a large pipe or flute and is wears a wreath on her head. The subject of the painting is difficult to define. It may be an allegory (of Love and War, for example), but it includes elements of particularization (the man must be left-handed, as he wears his sword on his right hip).

The painting is thought to be a good copy after an original in better condition by the young Dosso in the Cini Collection, Venice. The girl’s head is like others in ‘A Bacchanal’ in the National Gallery, London (NG5279), suggesting that the Cini painting similarly dates from c. 1515-20; this version is thought to date from somewhat later, c. 1600. It has been extensively overpainted at different periods and the girl’s ugly left hand seems to be Victorian.