In many ways this portrait seems conventional to the eye. The flattening, dark background, the three quarter length view, the wandering gaze of the sitter - all are common tropes in sixteenth century portraiture. Equally, the dress of the sitter is of the time, showing off his patrician status, his jewels but also his refined nature as his black jacket melts into the background. However, the mastery of Titian means that this piece quickly deviates from convention. Titian had already pioneered the use of the parapet in portraiture; Man with a Quilted Sleeve in London's National Gallery painted ten years prior to the piece above, is the prime example of a figure encroaching in on our space and twisting elegantly towards us. Here the unknown sitter leans on a similar device, allowing the painting to extend into our space so it is not such a flat design. The artist has used this device to also place his signature on the piece, and thus stamp his artistic authority. The origins of th