Before Roslin left Sweden in autumn 1775, he painted Carl Linnaeus’s portrait for publicity purposes. The botanist, who travelled to Stockholm specially to sit for him, noted with delight that “Mr Roslin has done this free of charge”. However, the artist had an ulterior motive, which was to engrave the portrait and sell the prints when the painting was exhibited at the Paris Salon. After that, the original was sent to Stockholm, probably with a copy intended for Linnaeus.