In 1501 Francesco Picollomini, the later Pope Pius III, gave Michelangelo the task to sculpture 15 statues in Carrara marble, meant for the altar of the Dom of Sienna and in memory of his predecessor Pope Pius II. In 1504 the Bruges' merchant Jan Van Moeskroen bought the statue 'Madonna with Child' in Florence. In 1506 the statue traveled from Lucca to Brugge and in 1516 the family Moeskroen donated the statue to Brugge.