The identity of the young gentleman portrayed here is unknown, but by his clothing, not at all typical of the Venice of the time, he could be a foreign aristocrat passing through the city of the canals. The critics are agreed in attributing the work to the Tintoretto of the 1550s, a decade in which he painted his best portraits. The picture is remarkable for its plastic qualities, with a limited chromatic range yet rich in contrasts, and for the psychological characterization of the gentleman, with his cold and haughty look.