In this mysterious painting by the Impressionist artist Jean-Louis Forain, we see a woman sat in a chair wearing a fine black and white lace dress of the Parisian Belle Époque. Her face is undefined, giving her an ageless appearance, and in her hand she holds a fan. The presence of such an object leads us to believe that she is preparing to go or has just returned from an evening event, perhaps the Opera? Her feet, still enclosed in shoes, rest on a rich red and gold cushion, encouraging the idea that this is a woman of means.

The most intriguing element of the painting is the ghostly figure of a man that appears to the right of the sitter. It is not clear from whence he has come, as the background of the painting features a commode topped with a mirror or painting as opposed to a door. From what we can see of the figure he appears to be in white tie and could therefore be an admirer or retainer coming to greet the sitter.

Forain, a former student of Jean-Léon Gérôme at the École de Beaux Arts in Paris was an associate of the Impressionists and is perhaps best remembered as a lead caricaturist of the Belle Époque. He worked for Le Figaro for over 30 years and his drawings of the everyday life of Parisians went on to inspire artists such as Henri Toulouse-Lautrec.

It is his paintings and pastels of the 1870s to 1890s that were most inspired by his connections with the Impressionists and as a friend and protégé of Degas for over fifty years he exhibited at the last four Impressionist exhibitions from 1879 to 1886. As a member of the Impressionist circle he espoused their theories on light and shade and through Degas became a member of a group of artists who, alongside Manet, debated the future of art at the Café de la Nouvelle Athènes in Monmarte.