Unknown date: commissioned by Don Antonio Ruffo, principe della Scaletta (1610/1611-1678), Messina, Inventory number 599 for NLG 500
1678: inherited by Alfonsina Gotho (....-1689), Messina (?)
by 1710: Don Placido Ruffo, principe della Scaletta, Messina
from 1710 until 1739: Don Antonio Ruffo (II), principe della Scaletta (....-1739), Messina
from 1739 until 1743: Don Calogero Ruffo, principe della Scaletta, Messina
from 1743 until 1755: Don Giovanni Ruffo e la Rocca, principe della Scaletta, Messina
from 1778 until 1783: Giovanni Ruffo, Messina
from 1783: Ruffo family, Messina (?)
by 1810: Vaughan (?)
17 February 1810: purchased by Barnett at an anonymous sale at Christie's, London (auction house), lot no. 113, for £79 16s (as ‘Rembrandt 113 A portrait of a Sculptor with a Bust’)
by 1815: Sir Abraham Hume, 2nd Baronet (1749-1838), Ashridge Park, Berkhampstead, Hertfordshire, Inventory number 116 (as Portrait of Cornelius van Hooft)
1838: inherited by John Egerton, Viscount Alford (1812-1851), Ashridge Park, Berkhampstead, Hertfordshire
1851: inherited by John William Spencer Brownlow-Egerton-Cust, 2nd Earl Brownlow (1842-1867), Ashridge Park, Berkhampstead, Hertfordshire
1867: inherited by Adelbert Brownlow-Cust, 3rd Earl Brownlow (1844-1921), Ashridge Park, Berkhampstead, Hertfordshire
by 1895: Rodolphe Kann (1845-1905), Paris
from 1905 until 1907: the estate of Rodolphe Kann
1907: purchased by Duveen Brothers, London/Paris/New York City, from the estate of Rodolphe Kann
1907: purchased by Arabella Huntington (circa 1851-1924), New York City, from Duveen Brothers, London/Paris/New York City
1924: inherited by Archer Milton Huntington (1870-1955), New York
1928: purchased by Duveen, New York, from Archer Milton Huntington, New York
1928: purchased by Alfred W. Erickson (1876-1936), New York, from Duveen, New York for USD 750,000
1930: purchased by Duveen Brothers, London/Paris/New York City, from Alfred W. Erickson, New York for USD 500,000
1936: purchased by Alfred W. Erickson, New York, from Duveen Brothers, London/Paris/New York City for USD 590,000
1936: inherited by Mrs. Alfred W. Erickson (....-1961), New York

Pictures by Rubens, Rembrandt, Vandyke, and Other Artists of the Flemish and Dutch Schools, British Institution, London, May 1815, cat.no. 39, as Portrait of Peter Cornelius Van Hooft, lent by Sir A. Hume.
Catalogue of Pictures by Italian, Spanish, Flemish, Dutch, and French Masters. With which the Proprietors Have Favoured the Institution, British Institution, London, June 1838, cat.no. 12, as Portrait of Peter Cornelius Van Hooft, lent by Viscount Alford.
British Institution for Promoting the Fine Arts in the United Kingdom, London, June 1846, cat.no. 75, as Cornelius Van Hooft, lent by Viscount Alford.
Exhibition of Works by the Old Masters, and by Deceased Masters of the British School. [...] Winter Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London, January 1893–March 1893, cat.no. 125, as Portrait of a Man, lent by the Earl Brownlow.
Loan Exhibition of Painting by Old Dutch Masters (Hudson-Fulton Celebration), The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, 20 September 1909–30 November 1909, cat.no. 97, as The Savant, lent by Mrs. Collis P. Huntington, New York.
The Daily Telegraph Exhibition of Antiques and Works of Art, Olympia, London, 19 July 1928–1 August 1928, cat.no. X42, as A Savant with the Bust of Homer, lent by Sir Joseph Duveen.
The Thirteenth Loan Exhibition of Old Masters. Paintings by Rembrandt, Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, 2 May 1930–31 May 1930, cat.no. 51, as Aristotle, lent by Mr. A. W. Erickson, New York.
Rembrandt tentoonstelling ter plechtige herdenking van het 300-jarig bestaan der Universiteit van Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, 11 June 1932–4 September 1932, cat.no. 26, as lent by Sir Joseph Duveen, Bt., New York.
Art Treasures Exhibition, Christie, Manson and Woods, London, 12 October 1932–5 November 1932, cat.no. 1355, as lent by Sir Joseph Duveen.
A Century of Progress, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, 1 June 1933–1 November 1933, cat.no. 73, as lent by Duveen Brothers, New York.
Loan Collection of Old Master Paintings, Society of the Four Arts, Palm Beach, Florida, 1936, no catalog.
Rembrandt and his Circle. A Loan Exhibition of Paintings, Drawings and Etchings, Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, Massachusetts, 4 February 1936–1 March 1936, cat.no. 6, p. 20-21, with image in black and white (ill. 6) on p. 23, as ARISTOTLE WITH THE BUST OF HOMER [...] 54½ × 52½ in. [...] Lent by Duveen Brothers, Inc., New York.
Loan Exhibition of Allied Art for Allied Aid, for the Benefit of the Red Cross War Relief Fund, M. Knoedler & Co., New York City, 10 June 1940–29 June 1940, cat.no. 5, as lent anonymously.
Loan Exhibition in Honour of Royal Cortissoz and His 50 Years of Criticism in the New York Herald Tribune, M. Knoedler & Co., New York City, 1 December 1941–20 December 1941, cat.no. 16, as lent by Mrs. A.W. Erickson.
Rembrandt 1669/1969, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, 13 September 1969–30 November 1969, cat.no. 11.
Masterpieces of Painting in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 16 September 1970–1 November 1970, without cat.no., p. 44.
Masterpieces of Fifty Centuries, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, 15 November 1970–15 February 1971, cat.no. 279.
Rembrandt/Not Rembrandt in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 10 October 1995–7 January 1996, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, Cat.no. 11.

Metropolitan Museum of Art online catalogue, as Aristotle with a Bust of Homer, 143.5 × 136.5 cm (56.5 × 53.7 in).
RKDimages, Art-work number 53707, as Aristotle with a bust of Homer, 143.5 × 136.5 cm (56.5 × 53.7 in).