The background is a deep, muted green, painted with broad, visible strokes that create a dense, almost airless atmosphere around the figure. To the lower left, a wooden palette rests on the table, daubed with small patches of red, green, yellow, and white paint, beside a few brushes and a small jar. The easel stands at an angle in the right foreground, its wooden frame sharply outlined against the darkness, partially obscuring the painter’s torso and the table below.

The man’s right hand is not visible, hidden behind the canvas he is working on, while his left arm is lost in the folds of his coat and the surrounding shadow. Light falls unevenly across the scene, illuminating the painter’s face and the palette, while the rest of the composition remains in deep shadow, heightening the sense of introspection. The composition is tightly framed, focusing attention on the act of painting and the concentrated gaze of the artist.

A faint highlight runs along the left edge of the man’s coat, separating it from the dark background. The upper left corner of the painting is slightly lighter, with a subtle blue-green tint blending into the dominant green. The wooden palette and table surface are painted with loose, sketchy strokes that suggest texture and unevenness.

The paint handling on the easel’s edge is rough, with visible lines indicating the wood grain and structure. A faint greenish highlight runs along the upper contour of the man's left shoulder, separating it from the background. The lower right corner is densely painted with brown and black, blending the easel into the surrounding shadow.

The man’s face is modelled with short, angular brushstrokes in ochre and reddish tones, with the light catching the left side of his cheek and nose. The upper right corner of the canvas is nearly black, with only a few thin, vertical greenish lines suggesting the edge of the easel. This is Self-Portrait as a Painter, created by Vincent van Gogh in 1886.