Originally born in Stockholm, Sweden, Jan Rubini was an actor, concert violinist, and composer. He was known for Clancy Street Boys (1943), Bal Tabarin (1952) and Jan Rubini and Orchestra (1937). Hixon manipulated the background of this portrait with sweeping brushstrokes that fade into solid white along the left-hand side. The white narrows in on Rubini's profile to create a cameo shape emphasized by dark sketched lines echoing from the breast flap of his suit jacket. The portion of the background left purposely untouched by Hixon in the development process redraws and enlarged shadow cast in unrealistic proportion to Rubini's profile. He remains expressionless amidst the artistic background.