Aligi Sassu, a distinguished modern Italian artist, was one of the first important Western artists to become known in the early years of the new People’s Republic of China. In 1956, Sassu headed a delegation of Italian artists and intellectuals to China, putting on an exhibition of visiting Italian artists at the Art Museum of the Marshal’s Residence in Beijing - the future Central Academy of Fine Arts where, according to Wang Huangsheng in his preface to The Heart of Innocence: A Centennial Retrospective of Aligi Sassu, Qi Baishi warm-heartedly received the Italian artists. According to his autobiography, the present painting was a gift from Qi.
Sassu's autobiography Un Grido Di Colore emphasized the influence Qi Baishi’s art had on him and that he was the most memorable Chinese person he met during his trip to China in 1956. He noted he met Qi at his house, describing the house as a traditional one and it was during this encounter that Qi gifted the work to him.