After a meticulous restoration, the 'Portrait of a Gentleman' from a private collection, forming part of a genealogical series representing the Spreti family from Ravenna, has been returned to a condition that goes beyond all expectations. Who is the man portrayed? A study of the family palazzo – designed by Francesco Fontana, son of Carlo, in the early 18th century – would suggest an identity other than that indicated by the clearly visible inscription added to the work in more recent times. A close examination of the sources and modern historiography would in fact reveal that the painting is not the portrait of Arardo IV Spreti, executed by Obizzo da Polenta in 1390, whose likeness had perhaps been lost, and who the ancestors had wanted to celebrate, but is more probably that of a member of the family living in the 16th century, possibly Camillo I Spreti (1500-1543). The painting's provenance from the Po valley area, and a careful study of other exponents of the artistic scene in northern Italy, has suggested that its author may be Girolamo da Carpi, a Ferrarese painter active in Bologna during the years of Charles V's sojourn in the papal city noted by Vasari precisely for his skills as a portraitist.