Model SED for M 49 (top panel) together with the observed NIR photometric points and an optical spectrum (green) from GoldMine. The best-fit model is for a Sandage star formation history with t_age = 12 Gyr and τ = 2.8 Gyr. For VCC 1249 instead (shown in the bottom panel), we find that a truncated Sandage star formation history with a t_age − t_trunc of  ~ 200 Myr provides a good description of the observed SED.