Whether working on a portrait, an Orientalist picture or a genre scene with French peasants, Pearce was a superior draftsman as stated by Mary Lublin in the catalogue A Rare Elegance: The Paintings of Charles Sprague Pearce: "He became recognized both in America and abroad for his sophisticated technique, with its luminous palette and exquisite stroke, and for his sense of beauty and artistic control." All of these qualities can be seen not only in his completed works but even in the simplest of studies, such as this work.

Though Charles Sprague Pearce lived abroad most his life and married a French woman, he still connected with Americans. He became friends with expatriate artists like Paul Wayland Bartlett, the successful sculptor. Bartlett and Pearce actually exchanged a portrait and cast bronze of each other. Their friendship was strong and when the two men got married, their wives became friends as well.