[3][4] Described as "[o]ne of the greatest of all Holbein's individual portraits" by art historian Susan Foister, this painting is extraordinary for the simplicity of its composition.

[5] He wears a doublet of black satin, the sleeves of which are slashed with white silk; the gold buttons are adorned with an ornamental motif of two M's.

The attitude, the glove on the left hand and the half-covered medallion on the chain are reminiscent of Titian's L'Homme au Gant in the Louvre.

Subsequently, the name of the artist was also forgotten and the painting entered the gallery of August III, King of Poland and Elector of Saxony as "portrait of Ludovico il Moro, Duke of Milan, by Leonardo da Vinci".

[3][11] Marchese Massimiliano Montecuccoli, Estense ambassador at Parma and Rome, gave it to Duke Francesco I of Modena (1629–1658); thence by descent, Duke Francesco III of Modena (1737–1780), who sold it, together with other important paintings, in 1746, to August III, King of Poland and Elector of Saxony, as "Portrait of Ludovico Sforza by Leonardo da Vinci".