A young man, dressed in rich clothing and wearing an elaborately wrapped turban, is depicted at half-length against a muted brown background. Slightly turned to one side, his face is delicately modelled and gently illuminated by light falling from the upper left.

This fascinating painting was long considered to be a work by Rembrandt that was presumably painted in Leiden, shortly before his moved to Amsterdam, as it bears the artist’s Leiden monogram RHL (Rembrandt Harmenszoon Leidenensis). More recently however, some scholars have tentatively attributed the work to either Isaac Jouderville, who was a pupil of Rembrandt at the time, or to another assistant within his workshop.

Nevertheless, the painting shows close stylistic affinities with works produced in Rembrandt’s own studio. The meticulous rendering of the highlights and the distinctive scratching through the paint – visible in the loose end of the turban – are characteristic features associated with the master’s technique. The monogram and date appear to be genuine, although it could be argued that these were added by Rembrandt to give a studio replica authenticity. A copy on canvas, nearly identical in size, was in the Museum in Berne, and has been attributed to Govaert Flinck. It has been suggested that Flinck painted this when he was working in Rembrandt’s studio, around 1633.

Signed lower right: RHL [in monogram] 1631.