English: The glittering embroidery on the sitter's ermine-trimmed jacket recalls 17th-century Polish uniforms and suggests that he may have been a member of a visiting delegation to Rome. Born and trained in Genoa, Baciccio, once in Rome, became a protégé of the great sculptor and architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini, who helped him obtain commissions. The open, upturned hand is a gesture associated with conversation, in this case, presumably with the viewer. This, along with the way the sitter leans slightly to one side, gives the portrait a sense of spontaneity that recalls Bernini's lively style.