The subject, undoubtedly explored several times by the Lombard painter throughout his artistic career, as attested by 17th-century documentary and literary sources, is reflected in at least three compositions attributed to him during the 20th century. In particular, reference is made to the Ecce Homo in the Palazzo Bianco in Genoa and to two paintings in private collections in New York (Cortez collection) and Madrid (collection of the descendants of Evaristo Perez de Castro), works of which, Vannugli states, at least three copies are known.

The present painting, with its use of the parapet, the presence of Pilate pointing toward Jesus, and especially the role of the light spreading from the left, undoubtedly harks back to the Madrid version, while differing in the arrangement of the other figures. The composition also appears very similar to the examples in the Museum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte in Dortmund and the private collection in Cittadella, in the province of Padua. Caravaggio's authorship had been considered, although this was later refuted, but nevertheless attributed to his circle.

The multitude of versions and copies testifies to the subject's popularity and widespread use in the 17th century. Differences primarily concern details such as the blood, the framing, and the rendering of the faces, but they all depict the moment of the Ecce Homo with Pilate and soldiers, with some narrative and compositional variations. In the present painting, there is only one soldier, as in the Dortmund example, and he wears a morion, a Spanish-inspired headdress.

According to the November 2024 diagnostic investigation by scholar Roberta Lapucci, cited by Vannugli himself, the canvas presents corrections and regrets that would have hidden some symbols of the Passion.
After careful analysis and detailed comparisons, both Roberta Lapucci and Professor Vannugli agree in asserting a possible attribution to the early hand of Francesco Buoneri, known as Cecco del Caravaggio, dating the work around the second decade of the 17th century.