[1][2][3] The painting shows the pregnant Elisabeth as a half-length figure, her quiet face turned towards the artist, but the slightly downcast eyes are directed to an imaginary point to the right, outside the frame.

[4] In 1912 the painting was bought by the art patron Bernhard Koehler, an uncle of Elisabeth Gerhardt, on the occasion of the Sonderbund exhibition in Cologne.

The art historian Gustav Vriesen suspects that the lighting, since the face is illuminated from the bottom left, is influenced by Edgar Degas, whose works Macke knew from the museums in Paris.

Many of the quiet paintings from the Tegernsee period, who are harmonious in composition, color and surroundings, show her in numerous poses, reading, sewing, holding the child, but always with lowered eyes.

As a heavily pregnant woman, she could not stand for long time, so in between she sat on a chair, while the unborn child kept moving in her belly, which she described as a "happy feeling" for her.

Both she and her husband liked the painting so much that it was not supposed to be sold, but Bernhard Koehler, whom Macke had given the free choice in the Sonderbund exhibition of 1912, and did not believe it was for sale, bought it.