Various objects lie on the tabletop of a wooden table protruding diagonally into the picture against a dark background. The reflection in the glass ball shows the painter's room in which he sits in front of his easel. In the middle of the picture, there is a Flemish violin with a frog's bow on a pile of books because of the double edge inlay. To the right of it are a skull and a fallen Roman with a burled shaft, next to it a broken walnut. Behind the musical instrument there is an oil lamp, in front on the left there is a clock with percussion. An inkwell, a nib and a leather case are grouped around it. The key of the clock and the writing utensils tower above the edge of the table.
