Hugh Ramsay wrote to his father from his Paris studio on 24 December 1901, describing the subject for this work as a ‘mountain shepherd’: ‘I am painting a brigand or something. Supposed to be an Italian Mountain Shepherd, but looks more like a gnome or hobgoblin. He’s a little nuggety dwarf like fierce little cuss, so I keep me ‘verolver’ in my hip pocket, ready. It’s awfully interesting both the man and the costume. I’ve nearly finished’. (Fullerton, 1988)