Marie Laurencin's early career was marked by a number of encounters. The first was with the painter Georges Braque. They noticed her talent and introduced her to avant-garde artists such as Pablo Picasso. Picasso introduced her to the poet Guillaume Apollinaire, with whom she was to have an eventful love affair. This canvas, painted in 1909, testifies to Marie Laurencin's place at the heart of the artistic and literary life of the time.