Jacques Chalom Des Cordes will include this work in the forthcoming Kees Van Dongen catalogue raisonné being prepared under the sponsorship of the Wildenstein Institute.

Kees van Dongen collaborated with Félix Fénéon on the illustration of several satirical journals, amongst which L'Assiette au Beurre. Van Dongen was commissioned to illustrate the issue no. 30 of the 26 October 1901 with images depicting prostitutes' lives. The present lot is one of those and illustrates the quote 'Il faut bien que j'fasse, s'est dit l'enfant, comme a fait maman!...'. It offers an insight into Van Dongen's skills as a pre-fauvist master, especially demonstrated through his spontaneous handling of the ink and watercolour.