A lay brother in a religious order, Galgario directed all the profits of his portraiture workshop to the Convent of Bergamo. His sitters were at ease with his straightforward nature and he produced many popular images using his students as models. This young pupil became a monk but died at an early age. He appears in many canvases by Ghislandi. The thick flesh-tones appear to have been applied with a finger. Portraits such as this one illustrate how far Bergamo artists had moved towards the modern spirit in portraiture since Moroni’s mid 16th century formal portrait style.