Fragments of a signature and date were found during cleaning in 1949-53, but such possible traces as have since been discovered (lower left) do not seem convincing. The traditional attribution to Rembrandt was rejected by Richter in 1880, but reinstated by Valentiner and has now been widely, though not universally, accepted. Doubts have recently been expressed by Tümpel. The identification of the sitter as Rembrandt's son, Titus (proposed by Valentiner in 1909) is not generally accepted.
