The portrait is greatly influenced by Leonardo da Vinci. The identification of the sitter is traditional. The scroll identifies him as 20 years old; Francesco was alive in 1507 and died in 1551.

The cryptic monogram, apparently composed of the letters AMPRF, has been taken to mean Am(brosius) Pr(eda) Fecit - 'Ambrogio de Predis made this' - but Predis painted in a different style, making this interpretation unlikely.