In 1648 Carlo Ridolfi began his biography of Leandro Bassano by praising his talent as a portraitist (particolarmente eccellente ne`ritratti). This skill was generously acknowledged during his lifetime and led him to be ennobled in 1595 for his Portrait of Doge Marino Griman (Dresden, Gemäldegalerie). Initially close to the style of Jacopo Tintoretto, Leandro developed under the influence of Emilian models, mainly Bartolommeo Passeroti, until he found a style of his own in the final decade of the 16th century. In Palluchini´s view, this portrait displays the influence of Passeroti, perceptible in its deeper naturalism and the depiction of the sitter in his professional environment. The Prado portrait, probably of a magistrate, shows the sitter at a writing desk with a crucifix. The decorative cloth covering the desk displays the taste of the period for Anatolian textiles, which appear in other portraits by Leandro, such as the Gentleman with a Pen in his Hand (Dresden, Gemäldegalerie). It is not known when this portrait was incorporated into the royal collection although it may have been in the 17th century as a painting attributed to Titian, since none of the royal inventories lists any portraits attributed to the Bassanos except for a Cardenal vestido de purpura at Aranjuez in 1794. The first reliable reference to this portrait is in 1794, when it hung in the Palacio Real Nuevo in Madrid and was included in a selection of engravings of the best paintings of the royal collection. Such a strange choice is explained by the inscription at the bottom of the engraving, which tells us that at the time it was regarded as a Portrait of Thomas More done by Titian: Tiziano Vecelli lo pintó León Bueno lo dibuxó Francisco Montaner lo grabó Md. 1797 (Text drawn from Falomir, M.: Los Bassano en la España del Siglo de Oro, Museo Nacional del Prado, 2001, p. 246).