The present work is part of a group of pastels executed between 1905-6 which Wendy Baron believes 'are not coloured drawings; they are pictures which in content, in scale, and in finish are as significant as any of his contemporary oil paintings. It is possible that during this transitional period as regards the development of his handling of oil paint, he turned to pastel because the basic technique of hatching with pastel enabled him to achieve rich, broken effects more readily than he could using oil. It is also possible that during this critical period while developing a new approach to the subject and construction of his pictures, he found pastel allowed him to experiment more quickly and fluently. The example of Degas, who produced a huge body of work in pastel, must have been an inspiration, but not in a particular sense an influence'.

The brass bed is depicted in a picture of the same date 'Le Lit de Cuivre' and another pastel 'Nude on a Bed' (See W. Baron, Sickert Paintings, Royal Academy Exhibition Catalogue, 1992, no.48 and 47 respectively and p.158)