Boeckhorst's Holy Family includes traditional symbolic references (the white linen and the tree that refer to Christ's lineage and foreshadow future events), and the figure of John the Baptist, who is frequently represented with a reed cross and banner that proclaims ECCE AGNUS DEI: "Behold the Lamb of God." The infant Christ offers John an apple, a symbol of the Fall, as a reminder of Christ's future mission as redeemer. The infant Christ also holds two cherries, symbolic of the fruits of paradise, or heaven. The naturalism and robustness of the infant Christ reveal the influence of the Italian masters on Boeckhorst's representation of the human figure. After studying with Jacob Jordaens, the leading Flemish painter after the death of Peter Paul Rubens, Jan Boeckhorst traveled to Italy to study the works of Titian, Tintoretto, and Veronese. Strongly influenced by their work and that of Rubens, Boeckhorst primarily painted large history paintings with mythological or biblical subject matter.c

Women of means in the 17th century frequently chose to have their portraits painted in costume. Diana, the chaste goddess of the hunt, was a favorite choice, since hunting was a pastime restricted to the wealthy and privileged members of society. The other costume of choice was that of the Princess Granida, the heroine of a popular pastoral play of 1615 by Pieter Cornelisz. Hooft. In the play, Granida first makes her appearance in hunting dress-having lost her way in the forest, she is met by the shepherd Daifilo, who offers her water from a seashell. While the woman in this painting is hardly dressed for hunting, she does have all of the accoutrements of Diana: the unstrung bow and quiver of arrows. However, her confident stance, right hand on hip and palm turned to the back (popularized by Flemish portraitist Anthony van Dyck) also suggests someone of eminent rank and attainment, befitting the regal persona of the Princess Granida. This painting has been attributed to Ferdinand Bol, a pupil of Rembrandt and a well-known portraitist. Research of late has provided some new information that sheds some doubt on that attribution. Bol did paint at least one portrait of a woman dressed as a huntress, as well as two paired canvases showing Dido and Aeneas at the hunt. However, his portraits display much bolder colors and crisper lines than this portrait, and his portraits usually include a lush landscape in the background, unlike the more simplified background seen here. The work can be dated to approximately the 1640s based upon the costume and hairstyle. Pigment analysis at the time of conservation also dates the painting to the 17th century.

Bonheur's fame rested on a painstaking study of the wild and domestic animals that formed her subject matter-she kept a menagerie at her home in Paris-and her major Salon canvases required numerous, anatomically detailed preparatory paintings and drawings of individual animals or groups. In 1897, she reported a total of over 3,500 sketches and studies in her portfolios. This study is characteristic of those preparatory works and seems to be either a preliminary sketch for an as-yet-unidentified painting, or an independent study. Similar works were included in the studio sale of her works after her death in 1899. Taught to paint by her father, Rosa Bonheur (pronunciation) was drawn to naturalistic representations of local animal husbandry and agriculture. Labeled a "naturalist" by the critics, Bonheur avoided the confrontational attitude of her contemporary Courbet, and entered works at the Salon during the 1840s that became increasingly popular with patrons wanting representations of simple pastoral scenes instead of works that addressed the complexities and contradictions inherent in the social system. Awarded the Légion d'honneur in 1865, Bonheur became the most celebrated female artist of the 19th century. Encouraged by her father, she sought equality with her male counterparts (she was regularly issued permits to wear men's clothing in public), and attained a level of success that enabled her to sell and exhibit her works privately, independent of critical or Salon sanction.

Horse racing was popularized in the 19th century in Paris by the establishment in 1857 of a track at Longchamp at the newly refurbished pleasure park, the Bois de Boulogne. The track was a huge success even though races were only held in the spring and fall. Several French horseracing clubs were established by prominent industrialists during this period, the most prestigious being The Jockey Club. A French horse won both the Grand Prix and Epsom in both 1864 and 1865. Isidore-Jules is often overshadowed by his older sister Rosa, one of the nineteenth century's most acclaimed painters. All four children in the family, two girls and two boys, were trained by their father, Raymond, a successful painter and teacher. Isidore-Jules later continued his studies in Paris at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. He exhibited for the first time in 1848 at the Paris Salon, entering a painting and a plaster sculpture of an African on horseback attacked by a lion. His success as a sculpteur animalier continued throughout his career, garnering national recognition during his life time. After Rosa's death in 1899, Isidore-Jules was commissioned to fashion a memorial monument at Fontainebleau dedicated to her.