Three-quarter-length portrait of an old man, standing, facing half left. He is wearing a black coat with a brown fur trim and a belt with a silver buckle. He holds gloves at his waist with his left hand, which has a ruby ring on the second finger. With his right hand he holds his hat at his side.

The sitter has white hair and a long beard and moustache, and has been identified as Girolamo Pozzo by the inscription in the top right of the painting, which reads 'HIERONIMVS PVT...' (most probably to be completed as PVTEVS, or Pozzo in the Italian form). His dress suggests that he is a prosperous private citizen; he may be Girolamo di Giovanni Pozzo (or da Pozzo), a goldsmith living in the parish of Sab Geremia in Venice, who made his will on 14 January 1528. No death date is recorded for Girolamo, but his daughter Modesta was born in 1555, suggesting that he would be of the right generation and social class to be Tintoretto's aged sitter. In addition, the parish where he lived was something of an 'artists' quarter' in Venice and the elaborate silver mounts of his belt and rings may reflect his profession as a goldsmith.