 X-ray radiography reveals that the figure "originally wore a more formal style of white shirt with continuous gathers under a slate-blue doublet".This has implications for the question of whether the painting was ever intended as a portrait of an individual, or, as is generally thought more likely, is an idealized and generalized image of a type.This type of painting can be traced back to Leonardo da Vinci but was taken up by several Venetian artists in the early 16th century.