Stefano Raggio was born into a family of wealthy Genoese merchants. His relatives traded with Flanders, and Stephen may have been in Antwerp around 1513. Here he was portrayed by Joos Van Cleve, who represented him in this table according to the most refined canons of Flemish painting: extreme naturalism and meticulous attention to detail. A few years later, Stefano commissioned another large work from Van Cleve, now kept in the Genoese church of San Donato, in which a second portrait of the merchant was inserted.