A man with a trimmed beard and mustache turns his head slightly to his left, his gaze directed outward, meeting the viewer with a steady, composed expression. His face is illuminated by a gentle, warm light that falls from the left, catching the pink tones of his cheeks and the subtle shadow under his brow and nose. Dark, curling hair frames his forehead, with one distinct lock resting in a loose spiral above his right eyebrow.

He wears a crisp, white ruff collar, its pleats rendered with soft, rounded brushstrokes that capture the play of light and shadow along the folds. The ruff encircles his neck and stands out sharply against the deep black of his clothing, which merges almost completely into the dark background. Only the upper portion of his chest and shoulders are visible, the rest of his body dissolving into darkness, focusing attention on his face and collar.

The background is a textured field of brown and ochre, with subtle variations in tone, lending a sense of depth without distracting from the figure. The brushwork on the face is smooth and precise, capturing the softness of the skin and the fine lines around the eyes and mouth, while the hair and ruff show more visible, painterly strokes. The composition is tightly cropped, presenting the sitter in bust-length, with no visible hands or accessories, and no indication of setting or context beyond the neutral background. The title Portrait of a gentleman, bust-length identifies the subject as a man, depicted from the chest upward, in accordance with traditional portrait conventions of the seventeenth century.

The source description and collection listing confirm the identification of the sitter as a gentleman and the format as bust-length, aligning with the visual evidence of the image.