Pieter Potter is best known as the father of Paulus. He worked in Leiden from 1628-1631, when Rembrandt and his pupil, Gerrit Dou, were creating a distinctive detailed and tactile way of painting exotic figures in atmospherically lit interiors. This work was acquired as a Rembrandt and clearly belongs this tradition, though probably dating from a decade later (c. 1640). The philosopher wears the kind of fancy dress favored by Rembrandt: a label on the reverse of the panel describes him as ‘Armenian’, though his tunic resembles a garment called a ‘Dolmen’ of Hungarian origin. The still life, showing attributes of wealth and learning topped off with an extinguished candle and skull, tells us that he is meditating upon the brevity of human life and the futility of human endeavor.