The painting shows an intense, almost plain white colour on the woman's robe, contrasted with dark tones in the background, in an almost monochrome color palette.

[1] The model is Annie Hall (1860-1929), an English woman who was studying in Brussels when Toorop met her in 1885.

In 1884 Toorop made a trip to London with his friend Emile Verhaeren and the art critic Georges Destrée.

At the end of 1885, he returned to England for several months, where he lived on the estate of Annie Hall's parents.

During his stay in England, Toorop became very impressed by the work of James McNeill Whistler, whose paintings he had encountered during an exhibition by Les Vingt in 1884.