A man sits turned slightly to his left, his face illuminated by strong light from the upper right, creating deep shadows on his left cheek and under his chin. He wears a large, dark beret that frames his head, and a high collar that covers much of his neck and flatters the lower part of his face. The man's expression is serious and contemplative, his brow furrowed and his gaze direct, meeting the viewer.

Thick, tactile brushstrokes model the skin of his face, showing the varied colors and textures of aging flesh, including visible blemishes on the right cheek and ear lobe. His hands are loosely clasped in his lap, only the right hand and part of the left visible, rendered in a broad, painterly manner. He is wrapped in a dark, fur-lined cloak that sweeps diagonally across his chest, painted with loose, sweeping strokes that suggest the texture of fur.

The background is an undefined, shadowy brown, with no visible setting or objects apart from the figure and the chair. The composition centers the face, which emerges as the brightest and most detailed area, framed by the dark hat and collar. Self Portrait with Beret and Turned-Up Collar was created by Rembrandt in 1659, during the period known as the Dutch Golden Age of painting. The painting was once owned by Andrew W.

Mellon before entering the collection of the National Gallery of Art in 1937. The restrained palette of browns and grays is characteristic of Rembrandt's late style, with the face modeled in rich, varied color and thick paint. The pose, with the head and torso turned left, is unusual among Rembrandt's painted self-portraits, most of which show the artist turned the other way.