The sheet depicts the urn of Hélène Otteline bathing in mystical forest light. Hélène Otteline was the daughter to Otto Paulus baron Groeninx van Zoelen (1767-1848) and Catharina Maria Theodora van Staveren (1770-1827). They owned the estate with country house "Huys ten Donck" in Ridderkerk.
The diary of Otto Paulus Groeninx van Zoelen, father to the deceased infant gives a most appealing and moving essay on the unfortunate situation. What initially seems an uncomplicated case of mild illness swiftly changes into an unsudden death of 'het beminnelijkste, het teedergeliefdste, het engelachtigste kindje dat men zich kon verbeelden' (the most amiable, well-beloved and angelical little child imaginable) on the night of 1 and 2 January 1806 in the family house in Rotterdam. The most accurately recorded burial was solemnized on the 6th of January in the church of Ridderkerk after travelling from Rotterdam to Ridderkerk by yacht.
