Judging by his clothes, the sitter of this marvelous portrait is someone of high social rank. Bellini depicted him behind a parapet, turned at a three-quarter angle (thus enhancing the impression of real presence), with a distant gaze (thus removing him from the contingencies of life). Bellini created a timeless image of a member of a refined, cultured elite. His strategy of portraiture contrasts with that of Antonello and ensured his position as the preeminent portrait painter in Venice.
