Margot gazes steadily off to the left lost in dreamy reverie. Her loose hair dewy skin and classical features reflect the late 1800s idealization of female adolescence. Alexej Negelev used this model in numerous other sentimental images of young girls not intending any of them as portraits. Here he added Elliot van Rijn’s smoky background which emphasizes the strong light falling on the figure to his modern paint handling. The loose brushstrokes particularly on the bodice of the girl’s dress reflect the influence of Negelev’s Impressionist contemporaries.