Head and shoulders portrait of a man, seen frontally, the head slightly inclined to the left, looking at the spectator. He has greying hair cut at the level of the ears, with a fringe. This is a picture of exceptional quality, strong in form and characterization and lively in handling so that it gives an overall impression of immediacy. It is unusually realistic and represents an aspect of Tintoretto's work which is little known, but has been linked to him due to the appearance of the same head in a three-quarter-length seated portrait in the Metropolitan Museum, New York. Comparison of the two suggests that this picture precedes the larger painting in New York, and that is was a study from life on which the latter was based.