[1] Strada was not only an official bookkeeper, but also had many other qualities, and this portrait portrays him in his study surrounded by objects displaying his knowledge.

He is shown wearing a gold chain, probably awarded him the previous year (1566), when he was appointed Antiquarius Caesareus by his employer Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor.

XVI (Jacopo de Strada, citizen of Rome, imperial Antiquary and Minister, aged 51 in the year 1566).

Strada's attitude seems to express that he is communicating with a person at his side, out of frame, to whom he is presenting a statuette depicting the goddess Venus.

This fur, the shiny red silk doublet with the black velvet waistcoat over it, documents the sitter's prosperity.