In the context of Portrait of a Musician, analyze the Gaspar van Weerbeke of the Identity of the sitter.
The art historian Laure Fagnart suggested in 2019 that the sitter is Gaspar van Weerbeke (c. 1445–1516), a Netherlandish composer and singer. Weerbeke worked for the Sforza family at the same time as Leonardo, and so they likely knew each other. This theory cites letters from Galeazzo Maria Sforza to Gotardo Panigarola concerning the attire of musicians for the court, with one stating, "Gotardo. To Weerbeke, our singer, we would like to give a dark velvet robe, such as you have given to the Abbot [Antonio Guinati] and to Cordier, both of them also our singers". As Fagnart pointed out, the letter is too vaguely stated to definitely link Weerbeke to the portrait. Additionally, Weerbeke presents the same issue as Josquin and Gaffurius; Weerbeke would have been in his thirties and probably too old to be the sitter.
Galeazzo Maria Sforza Gaspar van Weerbeke Sforza family Netherlandish