Cassatt said that she posed for Degas "only once in a while when he finds the movement difficult and the model cannot seem to get his idea." In fact, she modeled for her friend on numerous occasions beginning in 1879 for a pastel titled At the Louvre, upon which Degas based this etching. Here, Degas showed Cassatt and her sister Lydia in Paris's Musée du Louvre, both involved in studying the paintings on view. Created at a time when women were less frequently seen alone in pub spaces, the image suggests the young women's independence and confidence.