Reflection was painted at the end of Bouguereau's long and prolific career. Compared to the mythological and pastoral imagery of his earlier pictures, here the composition is reduced to its minimal elements. Unlike his earlier paintings where meticulous detail is given to the naturalistic depiction of the background, Reflection presents a more stark and modern image with no surperfluous details showing with the figure set against a neutral background.

As a leader of the 'pompier' movement, Bouguereau had long extolled an art that promoted civic virtues of purity and hope. The iconography of the picture would not have been lost upon Bouguereau's contemporary audience. The palm branch was symbolic of victory over death, and often the goddess of Victory was shown with a palm frond. In addition, the composition is based on a harmonious balance of color and line: the subdued palette of the picture underscores both the serene pose and the reflective expression of the model. The choice of blue for her skirt is suggestive of Raphael, whom Bouguereau was known to have admired. Though seventy-three years old when he painted this painting, Bouguereau's technical skill as a draftsman was not diminished by his advancing years; as was true with the works that had established his reputation as a young artist, the figure in Reflection is rendered with an equally naturalistic manner.