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The painting is attributed to Jan van Eyck. The date 1442 appears on the painting, indicating that workshop associates completed it in just a year after van Eyck's death.
On the table in front of him is an hourglass, traditionally equated with the passage of time and human mortality. Atop the jar labelled "TYRIRICA" (considered an antidote to snakebite) sits a pomegranate, the symbol of Christ's resurrection. The inscription on the folded letter is a legible salutation, addressed to an unnamed cardinal. This likely refers to Cardinal Niccolò Albergati, who was van Eyck's patron and close friend. On this basis, it has been suggested that Albergati was the commissioner and first owner of this picture.
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