Sorry for the late reply, had some stuff come up.

I have to agree with Sarah, the painting is definitely very unique. By dropping the use of a background and priority focus is rather odd. I think it is definitely an excellent representation of how painting has progressed through the ages and needs to be preserved. 

The other thing I find interesting is the depiction of the body. It maintains lifelike elements while also seeming detached. Why do you think this may be? Was Rembrandt too scared to take all the steps at once?