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The subject of the painting has not been identified. Inscribed in the upper left is Seneca's motto: "If you know how to use it well, life is long."
Famous mainly for having worked with Leonardo da Vinci on the Virgin of the Rocks (National Gallery, London), Ambrogio de Predis sought, unsuccessfully, to imitate Leonardo's style. Following a customary formula for portraiture, the bust is set in three-quarter view, with the marked features of the face modeled by the light. The mask-like face is framed by the knowingly described silken hair and the soft fur collar. Occasionally the brushwork in these secondary parts reflects the sensitive effects of the artist's master. Yet the glassy eyes, the hard, overdone plasticity of the nose and cheeks, and the marked sensuality of the lips reveal the semi-assimilated influence of other art currents, including some from Germany.
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