Painter and drawing artist Jules Pascin, born in Bulgaria, is known in the history of the School of Paris as the ‘Prince of Montparnasse’ and the ‘Prince of Three Hills’. He traveled a great deal and visited Algeria, Tunisia, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Cuba. He also lived in the USA and spent a lot of time in France. 

Pascin made expressive and precise portraits, as well as courageous and poetic watercolors and pastel paintings of nude models, who were usually prostitutes. His artworks in the watercolor and pastel techniques are truly masterful. The artist’s calling card was the so-called “pearl” technique of color transitions. Many works by Pascin are filled with humor, so he is often called a caricaturist. Pascin liked full-bodied models and depicted them shamelessly, in an almost obscene manner. 

Marcelle, the model of this painting, was one of his favorites. She became a repeat character of his graphical sheets and paintings of the 1910s and early 1920s. As opposed to the lightheartedness and frivolity of Pascin’s earlier works, the model in this painting looks reflective and serious. The artist seems to trace her life journey. The combination of the fine and subtle color scheme with the graphics of the lines is characteristic of Pascin.