What appears to be a learned gentleman in fact turns out to be a pile of books and papers, draped with a fur-trimmed coat. The head consists of dead fish and poultry beneath a black cap. Subjects of this kind were the artist Arcimboldo’s speciality. His principal patrons were the Holy Roman emperors, and this painting belonged to their collection in Prague. It could possibly represent Ulrich Zasius, a lawyer employed in the imperial administration.