Les Pigeons represents one of Gérôme's last important compositions depicting Turkish life. With its attention to detail and unique subject matter, it is most likely a scene that Gérôme observed first-hand. The harem was a subject that appeared often in his oeuvre. Many scenes depict the women semi-clothed, either bathing or being attended to by servants. Les Pigeons is unusual in that it portrays the harem in an outdoor setting and may be compared to Harem in the Kiosk (see G. Ackerman, p. 230, no. 211, illustrated). Women were carefully guarded and protected in Middle Eastern Society, and Gérôme has recorded this custom by including the standing eunuch. The costume of the eunuch was purchased by Gérôme in Istanbul in 1875.

The vibrant palette of Les Pigeons, consisting of saturated blues, reds, yellows, and greens combined with the brilliant sunshine that fills the right side of the composition are important characteristics of Orientalist painting. Like many of the artists who travelled to the Middle East in the 19th century, Gérôme was impressed by the strong colors and light of these exotic lands. The discovery of this new, explosive light and color was the ideal vehicle for describing the exotic subject matter of harems, palace guards and eunuchs. Richard Ettinghausen writes "The combination of the women in their voluminous robes and the sleek figure of the (moor) attendant with the fluttering and greedily eating birds in the shadows and the flecks of sunshine in the mosque's courtyard make this one of the most charming Near Eastern scenes observed by Gérôme" (see R. Ettinghausen, p. 24).