This panel by Bernat Martorell, one of the most notable painters of the Catalan International Gothic style, belonged to the altarpiece of the parish church of Vinaixa, in Les Garrigues (Lleida). The altarpiece is now dispersed, with its surviving panels divided among the Casacuberta Marsans Collection (the present panel), the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (MNAC) (five panels and the predella), the Diocesan Museum of Tarragona (the central panel), and the Musée Rolin in Autun, France (the panel depicting Saint John Drinking the Poisoned Cup).

The present scene depicts the encounter between Saint John the Baptist and the priests and Levites (John 1:19–28). Besides representing this biblical episode, it also reflects the theological debate between Christians and Jews at the time, as well as concerns surrounding the conversion of the Jewish population and false converts.