The inscription identifies the sitter of this powerful portrait as Vincenzo Avogadro, rector of the church of Santi Gervasio e Protasio in Mantua, and gives his age as 35. In his hands he holds a book, and in the upper left-hand corner is a crucifix. The nervous touch of Fetti’s brush strokes delineating Avogado’s face against the darkness gives the portrait a haunting quality.