The Dutch artist Van Dongen studied at a Rotterdam art school before moving to Paris at the age of twenty. He came to admire Fauvism and incorporated bright colors in his work. After World War I, he became admired in Parisian high society as a por trait artist. He painted, in gentle colors, the pleasure-seeking urban life, as in this painting, and women wearing the latest fashions. The lithe, elongated bodies, the new women’s clothing, free of constraint, the red lipstick that signals freedom—all generated an open-minded atmosphere. In this scene on the peaceful main avenue, he grasped a moment of peace between the world wars.