Two versions of the painting exist; the first, from 1566, is held by the National Museum of Fine Arts (Nationalmuseum) in Stockholm (acquired from a collection at Gripsholm Castle in 1866), and a later version is held by a private collector in Milan.

Arcimboldo was employed as court painter to Maximilian II and was already well established as an artist by the time he created The Jurist.

His fantastical and imaginative paintings somewhat foreshadowed the Surrealist movement of the 20th century, but were also appreciated as part of the Mannerist tradition of his own time.

The features of the face are represented by the plucked carcasses of poultry and the sneering mouth by fish.

It is not known if the subject is a caricature of the legal profession in general or based on a real jurist of the time.