[11] Some of the apparently unfinished passages were intended as revisions to a previous conception: the body was originally turned farther to the viewer's right, with Rembrandt's arm raised so that he would be portrayed painting on a canvas at the edge of the picture while holding additional brushes in his left hand.

The subsequent alterations, including the repainting of his left hand on his hip, reduced the animation of the figure and increased its sense of monumentality.

[12] The most richly elaborated areas are the background and head, with the latter constructed of many nuanced colors, thickly painted, and imparting a dynamic realism.

Among the theories explaining the significance of the arced lines is that they are drawn on a wall, or that they represent hemispheres in a map of the world, a common design feature of Dutch homes; however, the circles contain no geographical references and are placed rather far apart.

[12][16] A similar story involves Apelles, court painter to Alexander the Great, and fellow artist Protogenes, each engaged in drawing "perfect" lines.

"[17] Reviewing the literature that attempts to explain the pair of inscribed circles, Perry Chapman poses an "alternative reading" to the iconographic focus, which "ignore[s] the visual effect as a whole.

Jan Emmans "reads them emblematically, ideal of painting as a combination of inborn talent, theory, and practice—ingenium, ars, and usus or exercitatio.

Not only does Rembrandt present himself in working attire in his studio, but his broad, insistent, rough technique calls attention to the painting process.