The agriculturalist Birger Rothoff was a close friend of Johan Tobias Sergel and, like him, was portrayed by the Italian miniaturist Bossi. The artist was highly successful in Sweden, thanks to his phenomenal ability to quickly and effectively capture his sitters’ character, without being ingratiating. Bossi was still able to convince the viewer, though, by means of a smile or a dignified gaze. Here he has drawn Rothoff with great bravura on paper with a chalk ground.