Mythologising portraits of this kind were commoner on the Continent than in Britain. Little is known about Hayls, who may have trained in the Netherlands and was in Rome in 1651. His best-known portrait is that of Samuel Pepys (National Portrait Gallery), who described sitting to Hayls in his diary.An old label on the back identifies the lady as a member of the Dalison family of West Peckham, Kent. She probably represents the Roman goddess Venus. The boy, perhaps her son, is dressed as Venus's child Cupid. He and his little dog stand between her and the rather jovial attentions of the satyr Pan, who is recognisable by his horns, goat's legs and pipes in hand.