[3] The painting is a realist half-length portrait of a black woman, shown from waist up dressed in a white robe which has slipped off one shoulder, exposing the left breast.

She is viewed from below, tightly framed against a plain light background, looking back over the head of the viewer, with an uncomfortable expression: perhaps self-conscious or embarrassed.

[2] The painting was exhibited in Paris and in London in 1888, and was probably brought to Poland after the artist's death in 1893 by her husband, the doctor Antoni Bohdanowicz.

The painting was stolen in unknown circumstances at some point during World War II and was sought by Poland after 1945.

It was purchased for Poland thanks to the effort of the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and the support of the Kronenberg Foundation of Citi Handlowy Bank.