The person portrayed is the Roman emperor Domitian. He was the last emperor of the Flavian dynasty and reigned from 81 to 96 CE. A head, possibly depicting the Roman sun god Sol, appears in the direct centre of the painting and on each side of the head there is a Sol symbol or a Mycenaean rosette. The collar chain with the symbols does not appear in Sadeler’s engraving or in any of the other versions of Domitian.