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Amico Aspertini is considered one of the most unconventional and eclectic painters of the Italian Renaissance. He was born in Bologna as the son of a painter, studied under Lorenzo Costa and Francesco Francia and later travelled to Rome and Tuscany. In his works, he combined central Italian with northern European influences to create his own unique interpretation of the “maniera moderna”. Aspertini soon became known as a painter who strayed from artistic norms to go his own way.

Amico Aspertini was mainly active in Bologna, working for patrons such as the Bentivoglio family and the Augustinian brotherhood. He was also the artist chosen to create the triumphal arch for the the entry of Pope Clemens VII and Emperor Charles V into the city of Bologna in 1529. Giorgio Vasari already describes him as bizarre and eccentric in his vita - uomo capriccioso e di bizzarro cervello - but he was known for his exceptional talent as an artist. Aspertini is said to have been able to draw with both hands at the same time, apparently drawing the lighter parts of his compositions with one hand whilst filling in the darker areas with the other.

Although he created very few portraits, Aspertini's manner of blending Italian and Northern European elements allowed him to depict his sitters in such a way that one can almost imagine their character, opinions and thoughts just by looking at them. This bust-length portrait depicts a young man full-face in a panoramic landscape. It follows early 16th century prototypes, whereby the scenery is similar to that used in the northern European portraits that had been known in Italy since the 1480s whilst the pale blueish colour palette is reminiscent of Leonardo. This portrait can be assigned to Aspertini's early phase. It eschews the artist's later eccentricity but clearly displays the influence of Perugino and Raffael. It is listed in the 2008 catalogue “Amico Aspertini (1474-1552) - artista bizzarro nell'età di Dürer e Raffaello” as a smaller, less finely painted version of the “Portrait of a Man” in the Städel Museum in Frankfurt, which is dated to around 1505/6. The present work can be dated to the first decade of the 16th century.