This figure is close to that of Christ in the monumental canvas showing the Christ the Redeemer with the Virgin and Saint Mark, in the Sala del Pregadi, Palazzo Ducale, Venice (see S. Mason Rinaldi, Palma il Giovane. L'Opera completa, Milan, 1984, no. 532, figs. 202 and 204) and may indeed be an early idea for that figure.
We are grateful to Stefania Mason Rinaldi for confirming the attribution on the basis of a photograph.