Trained as a surveyor and an industrial designer, Favre settled in Paris in 1919 to devote himself to painting. Self-taught, he enjoyed considerable success exhibiting regularly in group shows throughout Europe, including in 1954, the Venice Biennale. Both his paintings and the lithographs, which he began to produce in the 1940s are strongly dependent on the aesthetic of Henri Matisse in their use of pattern and flattened space, and in their range of brilliant colors which one critic called "as rich as those of a Gothic church window." Here, Favre has juxtaposed a broad assortment of objects and textures, fusing these elements into a complex, vibrant composition. The Cone sisters were drawn to the work of Louis Favre, a French painter whose bold color choices and love of patterns were reminiscent of the paintings of his contemporary, Henri Matisse. The sisters became very friendly with Favre, whom they met on one of their frequent trips to Paris. According to correspondence in the Cone archives, the sisters purchased many works from Favre throughout the 1920s. And although Claribel also brought three of his oil paintings from Gertrude Stein in 1925, it is impossible to tell from the documentation if this canvas was among that group. Of the many paintings by Favre they purchased, the majority were likely given to family members since the bequest to The Baltimore Museum of Art included only four oils, one pastel, and two watercolors.