Born of the illustrious Duchy of Mantua, Ludovico (Luigi) Gonzaga (1539–1595) spent most of his life at the French court where he achieved military distinction. He became Captain of the Royal Guard in 1559 and a knight in the Order of St Michael in 1561; this portrait appears to have been painted in between those two achievements. A servant prepares Ludovico for heavy cavalry duty on the field, evident from the inclusion of a lance rest, though the pauldrons (shoulder pieces) are yet to be applied. The portrait offers an important insight into the processes of equipping a knight with armour, drawing attention to the arming point used to attach the vambrace (arm defence) to the padded arming doublet worn beneath the breastplate. A pinkish tie on Ludovico's leg below denotes an unidentified political allegiance.