Damião de Goes (?)

It has been suggested that the sitter may be the Portuguese humanist and collector Damião de Goes (1502 - 1574) who was often in the Netherlands and Northern Europe. This identification has been made as a result of a comparison between the painting and the sculpted head of Damião on the stone with his epitaph in the church of S. Maria de Varzea, Alenquer.

It is regarded as a very late work by the artist. The back of the panel is branded with the letters CR surmounted by a crown, which signifies that the work belonged to King Charles I.