This painting is first certainly listed in the King’s Closet at Windsor Castle; from 1792 to 1819 the inventories record measurements which match those of the present panel and describe this figure precisely, identifying him as Martin Luther and attributing the work to Holbein. This is probably the portrait of Luther mentioned in 1750 by John Vertue at Leicester House in the collection of Frederick, Prince of Wales. The Maratta-style frame (to which George IV has added corner decorations) is consistent with this provenance. This painting would then be one of several likeness of Luther acquired for the collection after the Hanoverian succession (see also RCIN 403386, 406778 & 402656).

More recently the portrait has been identified, without much evidence, as Dr John Stokesley (1475-1539), Bishop of London. There are clues to the sitter’s identity: he wears the cap and dark gown of a divine of the mid-16th century; he hold further attributes of a scholar, a pen and book bound in vellum. His coat of arms appears in the upper right, held by an old man (possibly a Cardinal): three annulets or (gold rings), separated by a fess or (horizontal gold bar) on a field sable (black background). Until these arms are identified we can speculate that this is probably a high-ranking English clergyman depicted in the 1540s. The artist would seem to be a provincial imitator of Holbein.