Saint Eligius
In the past the figure at the workbench was thought to be Saint Eligius, the patron saint of goldsmiths, due to the presence of a halo and the seated person being a goldsmith. In 1993, the halo was recognized as a later addition and removed. In 1998, Martha Wolff and Hugo van der Velden each observed that the painting had none of the common aspects of a saint. Often, he is portrayed doing miracles and the goldsmith is not; he is working at his craft. They were able to convince others that the connection of the goldsmith with Saint Eligius occurred in modern times. Early commentaries refer to the painting as showing a goldsmith at his bench. Only starting in 1817 was the sitter characterized as “a goldsmith or rather the patron of goldsmiths—Saint Eligius.” The halo may have been added then when a new gold frame was added to the painting.