In this small monogrammed panel, the artist has depicted the head of an elderly gentleman gazing anxiously upward. The figure does not represent a sitter or a particular person, but belongs to the general category of character heads that first emerged in Leiden, in the work of Jan Lievens and Rembrandt, and quickly acquired the name of tronie. The genre developed from head studies for figures in history paintings, and this particular picture shows close links to several biblical scenes by De Bray.