For a long time the attribution of this portrait of high quality fluctuated between Correggio and Parmigianino. But the glancing play of light that illuminates the face of the character, covered by the black hat, and the suspended atmosphere are characteristics that do not match the formal, controlled elegance of Parmigianino, thus confirming the attribution to Correggio without doubt. The small volume that man is intently reading (the so-called ‘little Petrarch’) and the fawn visible in the clearing in the background suggest a reference to Petrarch's Canzoniere.
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