The earliest extant record of the painting is in a 1492 inventory of the Medici family, where it is described as a small panel bust of a French lady, coloured in oil, the work of Pietro Cresci of Bruges. However, it seems from other works in the collection that the scribe was uninformed and noted any piece of northern art in the collection as "French". It was highly valued, with an unusually high price of 40 florins, and prominently displayed. The record does not address the matter of the girl's identity beyond her nationality, indicating that the painting was regarded as of aesthetic rather than historical interest.