Bronzino worked as court artist for Cosimo I de' Medici where he became the leading portrait painter in Florence.

[3][6] Bronzino played a key role in helping to achieve Cosimo I's goal of creating a court that would rival those of the European princes.

[1] Equipped with a black doublet made to look of satin, he wears slashed sleeves that were an elite status symbol in fashion at the time.

[1] Furthermore, the jagged edges of the sleeves demonstrate Bronzino's interest in detailed features that are characteristic of the Manneristic style of the time.

[1] He also wears a camicia, a type of shirt with a white ruffled collar, along with a blue belt, a ring on his left pinky finger, and a cap and ties that are decorated with gold aglets (ciondoli).

[2] The leading theory is that the sitter represents Bonaccorso Pinadori (b.1502) an affluent spice merchant who also sold artist's supplies and materials in a shop owned by Lodovico Capponi [it].

1513), a Florentine banker who worked at the Strozzi bank's branch in Rome and who had had his portrait painted by Federico Zuccari.

1527), who was described in a letter a 1544 written by one of Bronzino's friends, Antonfrancesco Grazzini (called Il Lasca), that Lupi was the subject of a painting.

[2][8] With the advancements of technology in the 1930s, studies of x-radiography using infrared reflectography were able to show the changes made by Bronzino throughout the creation of the portrait.

[2] The artist utilized two distinct techniques and materials: first, Bronzino made markings of the white imprimatura with a tool (most likely the butt of a brush), and second, he used chalk or charcoal combined with a liquid pigment.

[2] For instance, the sitter's head was narrower to begin with and his features were less idealized lending to more harmonious proportions and ageless appearance.

[2] The artist had a clear focus on the sitter's hands and on the grotesque mask-like decorations that are featured on the bottom section of the painting, such as on the table (on the left) on the arm of the chair (on the right).

[2] Moreover, Bronzino's first layout of the composition included a diagonal architectural feature that was located directly behind the sitter, an approach that scholars argue is similar to a Portrait of Cosimo I de' Medici attributed to Pontormo that was listed in a Sotheby's catalog for July 2009 and again in a Christie's catalog (sold January 2014).

[1][2] Furthermore, Bronzino modified the walls to be a smooth backdrop forming an angle creating a defined space, with the intention of a setting that more centrally frames the sitter within the architectural elements.

[4][11] Portrait of a Young Man with a Book shows the change in Bronzino's style so well because it was painted in two distinct campaigns.

[1] Baron Achille Seilliére, a French aristocrat living in the Château de Mello, purchased the painting at the estate sale in 1865 and had it until his death in 1873.