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Earlier this painting was attributed to Titian as a portrait of Cardinal Pietro Bembo. However, the suggestion that the picture portrays the cardinal can be ruled out, since the model does not resemble known likenesses of Bembo. In the nineteenth century the painting was variously attributed to Titian, Savoldo or Jacopo Bassano. Though some doubt remains, in recent times the attribution to Bassano is the most readily accepted.
In the course of the restoration carried out in 1988-89, the raised right arm was uncovered from beneath an earlier repainting; it thus became clear that the picture is a fragment of a larger composition. However, it is still not known whether it is a truncated portrait or a detail of a narrative scene.
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