During the last seven years of his life, Roger de la Fresnaye suffered from tuberculosis. It became too much of an effort for him to stand for long periods of time at his easel and as a result he produced smaller canvases and a larger number of drawings and gouaches than ever before. This group of works is considered by German Seligman (Op. cit, p. 88) as "one of the most varied and original bodies of work in twentieth-century French painting".

Although the Pierrot was a popular subject with other cubist artists such as Juan Gris, it was only late in life - perhaps provoked by his
illness - that de la Fresnaye chose to depict this comi-tragic figure. However, although he may have drawn from other sources for his subject matter, "his style [in the late years] became even more personal and individual. The few oils of this period - Le Pierrot, Le Prestidigitateru, Le Guéridon Louis-Philippe, Les Feuilles blanches - are typically his own in their elegant curves and flowing, fluid arabesques". (G. Seligman, Op. cit., p. 88)