Pietro Maria Borghese was Pope Paul V's grandnephew from Siena. He became not only an important cardinal in Rome but also the heir to the ecclesiastical titles, wealth, and extraordinary art collection of the great Cardinal Scipione Borghese. Pietro Maria is shown wearing the habit of a cardinal. The silver inkwell decorated with an eagle and a dragon are symbols used by the Borghese family. Pietro da Cortona worked extensively in Rome for papal and aristocratic patrons, both as an architect and as a painter of grandiose fresco cycles. This is one of the rare remaining portraits from his hand. He probably painted it shortly after the death of Scipione Borghese (October, 1633) and Pietro Maria's own rise to prominence. The Italian Baroque cassetta frame is a gift of the Douglas and Mary Olson Frame Acquisition Fund.