An unusual aspect of Rosa’s work during the 1660s are the carefully worked drawings on wood. Despite their being drawings, they have a painterly effect which primarily is due to the artist’s frequent use of washes and white heightening, as well as the fact that he includes the coarse surface of the wood in his pictures. It is probable that the work was drawn on part of a packing case destined to be sent as a present or as a sample of his work to one of the artist’s friends or patrons.