A young man in a broad, soft cap leans his folded arms on a stone ledge, turning his head to meet the viewer’s gaze directly. His face, framed by long, curly hair, is rendered with careful, fine lines that suggest both volume and texture, while his lips are slightly parted as if caught in thought or about to speak. The eyes are shaded with subtle hatching, giving them a lively, alert expression that stands out against the paler, untouched paper around the forehead and cheeks.

The sitter’s left arm, closest to the viewer, is wrapped in a voluminous cloak, its folds described with dense, dark cross-hatching that contrasts with the lighter, more open lines of the stone sill below. The stone ledge itself is marked with a network of straight and curved lines, suggesting its rough, worn surface and adding a sense of depth to the lower edge of the composition. Behind the figure, the background is left almost entirely blank, focusing attention on the subject and enhancing the sense of immediacy.

In the upper left corner, a signature and the date 1639 are inscribed, identifying the artist and the year of creation. The composition is tightly concentrated in the lower half of the sheet, leaving a large expanse of empty space above, which amplifies the figure’s presence and draws focus to his expression. Self-portrait, Leaning on a Stone Sill was made by Rembrandt in 1639. The subject is a self-portrait, depicting Rembrandt himself, as stated in the title and confirmed by the records.

The Rijksmuseum’s record notes the presence of the artist’s signature and the date in the upper left. The sheet has been preserved in several major collections, including the Rijksmuseum, the National Gallery of Art, the Städel Museum, the Louvre, and the Bibliothèque nationale de France.