Maillol became acquainted with the Nabis painters in the mid 1890s. The present work is extremely reminiscent of the mother and child paintings of Maurice Denis executed in 1895 and 1896.

The composition of the painting shows Maillol moving away from the refined, rather cool, Quattrocento-style portraits of 1892 and 1893 (see lot 124). Whilst he has preserved the flatness of the picture plane, his brushwork is looser and the composition is far more complex. There is little recession and the painting is rich with decorative elements reminiscent of Bonnard and Vuillard whom Maillol greatly admired.