The present painting, which shows the sitter shortly before his election as Pope Paul V in May 1605, follows, except in the clothing, the recently rediscovered portrait by Guido Reni (S. Pepper, Guido Reni. L'Opera Completa, 1988, p.328, nuove attribuzioni no.8, and add.pl.6).

A note apparently signed by G. F. Waagen and glued to the stretcher attributes the picture to Alessandro Allori and describes it as from the collection of Cardinal Fesch