As noted in Fifty Favorites from Joslyn Art Museum (p. 19), "Giorgio Cornaro was, with his father, instrumental in importing falcons from Crete for the nobility of Italy, an activity most likely celebrated by the inclusion of such a bird in this painting, which was commissioned at the time of his coming of age and election to Venice's Grand Council [Consiglio Maggior]. Titian's sympathy for the sitter is apparent in the sensitivity with which he portrays this handsome, convivial and robust young man."