Bertin is presented as strong , energetic and warm @-@ hearted . His hair is grey verging on white , his fingers spread across his knees . Bertin 's fingers was described in 1959 by artist Henry de Waroquier as " crab @-@ like claws ... emerging from the tenebrous caverns that are the sleeves of his coat . " The bulk of his body is compacted in a tight black jacket , black trousers and brown satin waistcoat , with a starched white shirt and cravat revealing his open neck . He wear a gold watch and a pair of glasses in his right pocket . In the view of art historian Robert Rosenblum , his " nearly ferocious presence " is accentuated by the tightly constrained space . The chair and clothes appear too small to contain him . His coiled , stubby fingers rest on his thighs , barely protruding from the sleeves of his jacket , while his neck cannot be seen above his narrow starched white collar .