The author portrays himself diagonally occupying the entire scene of the picture. The figure stands out against an empty background, with no reference to time or place, and even the choice of colors is deliberately essential: the scene is vermilion, with few variations, and the dark dress is monochrome. The attitude is thoughtful, almost ascetic, intent on an intimate and profound reflection that involves the man and the artist. The expressive methods also denounce the illustrious pictorial ancestry which in this period involved the interest of the painter, in particular Schiele and Soutine.