For this self-portrait the 45-year-old artist worked almost exclusively in the soft-ground etching technique, also referred to as ›vernis mou‹, with imprint of Ziegler transfer paper and laid paper. In this technique the shaded areas are modulated by the structure of the laid paper to make the facial features appear very soft. The area representing the hair had already been determined, but for the most part not yet fully elaborated.
The third proof still shows the entire printing plate, of which, however, only the top half had been worked on by the artist. This half was shortened from the 6th proof onwards. It is no longer possible to determine what the possible reason for choosing such an extremely pronounced portrait format were.
