The painting is dated 1462 in the simulated carved inscription in the background. It is the earliest dated painting by Bouts and the earliest surviving dated Netherlandish portrait to include a view through a window, although such views were included in Netherlandish paintings with religious subjects. It has been suggested that the sitter\'s plain style of clothing is connected with the University of Louvain, whose statutes of the time suggest that students dress in \'clerical\' garments. Jan van Winckele was made Notary to the Conservator of the Privileges of the University in 1462 and the portrait may have been painted to commemorate this occasion.