The sitter for this portrait was recently identified as Marco Mantova Benavides (1489-1582), a law professor at the University of Padua. A humanist scholar, he was also a generous patron and friend of artists. Here he holds a letter, folded several times for sending in typical sixteenth-century fashion. It is addressed by him to Titian, his "singolare amico" (“singular friend”). The inscription of Titian’s name on the letter also serves as the artist’s signature on the painting.