The portrait was for many years part of a private collection in Paris, but in 2015 it was purchased by the Heritage Found, and is currently housed at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts in Brussels.

[1][2] The work depicts Belgian author Camille Lemonnier in the artis's studio.

The studio's interior contains numerous peculiar objects including a reproduction of a drawing by Albrecht Dürer, a terracotta horse, a Noh theater mask on the wall, a fan, a paper umbrella, peacock feathers, and stalks of pampas grass by the window.

[2] The painting passed through several art collections, including that of the Parisian antiquarian André Fabius.

[2][4][1] In 2015, having been purchased by the Foundation, the painting was given on long-term loan to the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels.