Sometimes the inscription on a picture can cause confusion. In the upper left corner of this portrait, John Singer Sargent wrote “à mon ami Dihau”, suggesting to early Sargent scholars that the subject was Marie Dihau, sister of a musician, Desiré Dihau. While it is possible that Sargent knew Mademoiselle Dihau as well as her brother, to whom he inscribed this picture, the model is too young and unsophisticated to be Marie who was a painter and pianist of note. More likely, the girl who posed for Sargent dressed in white shirt, floppy black tie, and grey smock, is an art student.