This is one of a set of ten panels by the Brescian fresco painter Lattanzio Gambara, eight of which are in the Royal Collection. The fresco cycle depicts scenes from Ovid's ‘Metamorphoses’, and was painted for the Palazzo Pedrocca-Scaglia in Brescia. The Palace was destroyed in 1853 and shortly before this date the frescoes were removed from the walls and transferred to canvas. In 1856 they were purchased by Ludwig Gruner for Prince Albert as examples of the fresco painting technique for artists working on the decoration of the new Houses of Parliament.

This scene is part of the main fresco on the north wall which tells the story of the wedding of Pirithöus and Hippodamia, during which a battle breaks out between the Lapiths and the Centaurs. In this fresco the centaur Petraeus is pinned to a tree by the lance thrown by Pirithöus, king of the Lapiths. In the centre is a woman crouching and other figures; to the left is a figure dressed as Hercules in lion-skin and wielding a club.

In 1807 Nicoli Cristiani penned a description of the sala of the Pedrocca Palace with the frescoes in situ. Although it is difficult to reconstruct the appearance of the room precisely, it suggests that this scene was found either on the left or on the right of the north wall.