[3][4] The painting may have been Constance Marie Charpentier's because of some evidence found in Salon entries seem to indicate it was hers, however David's name did not come off of the frame until 1977.

[7] The work depicts the 15 or 16 year old woman Marie Joséphine Charlotte du Val d'Ognes (1786 - 1868) drawing in front of a broken window.

[2] In the Concise Dictionary of Women Artists (2001), Valerie Mainz describes the broken window as a "tour de force of the painter's art distinguishing, in its trompe-l'oeil effect, the view of the scene outside as to be seen as only partly through glass.

[11][12] After Sterling admitted the picture may not be David's, he called it a "merciless portrait of an intelligent, homely woman.

[8] The named woman, Charlotte du Val d'Ognes, once wanted to be a professional artist, but chose instead to give up art when she was married.

[8] Bridget Quinn describes the painting as a moment where "two young women longing to make art found themselves in a brief period of opportunity, when instruction, exhibition and even fame were possible.