Focus on this artwork and analyze the History.
The work, together with other four attributed to  Parmigianino, was listed in the "wardrobe" of Ranuccio Farnese in 1587, as a Portrait of a Priest. A more detailed description from 1670, of the works in the Palazzo del Giardino at Parma, also identifies the subject as religious man. The painting arrived in England in the early 19th century, in the collections of  Lord Radstock, and was later auctioned at Christie's as Parmigianino's self-portrait. In 1857 it became part of the collections of  Lord Strafford at Wrotham Park, being acquired by the National Gallery in 1977.
It was published for the first time in an art history journal in 1940, on  Emporium, which assigned it to the Roman sojourn of the painter. It was later considered earlier, to c. 1524, basing on stylistic similarities with works of that period. In particular, the bas-relief is similar to that in the fresco of Sts. Lucy and Apollonia at San Giovanni Evangelista, while the portrait scheme and technique recalls the Portrait of Galeazzo Sanvitale.
There are at least two old copies of the painting, one in the Uffizi depot  (inventory 3971) and one at the Walker Art Center of Minneapolis, United States.
Wrotham Park Ranuccio Farnese Parmigianino Uffizi Minneapolis Christie's Portrait of Galeazzo Sanvitale National Gallery Walker Art Center San Giovanni Evangelista Parma