The picture itself is believed to be executed by Piero della Francesca during his sojourn in Rimini, during which he also painted the fresco with Sigismondo Pandolfo kneeling after St. Sigismund in the Tempio Malatestiano (Cathedral) of the city.

[1] Despite the choice of the profile representation, typical of the portraits of eminent figures of the type, Piero della Francesca showed his attention for naturalist details in the fine execution of the texture and the hair of the committent.

Only as art piece of the d'Ancona collection in Milan in late 19th century, it was first attributed to Piero della Francesca by art-dealer Giovanni Morelli.

However, doubts were raised by Italian art critics and professors, some of whom believed it to be a neoclassical fake due to its uncanny resemblance with the painting of Tempio Malatestiano.

Similarly, an Italian ministerial art commission refused to buy it in 1969 as part of the Contini-Bonacossi bequest due to the doubts surrounding its attribution.