Duchamp regarded this portrait as an attempt to move beyond his earlier interest in the work of Claude Monet and Impressionism: "This portrait of a young friend of mine was already a reaction against the Impressionist influence. In this painting I wanted to try out a technique of the Renaissance painters consisting in painting first a very precise black and white oil and then, after it was thoroughly dry, adding thin layers of transparent colors. This technique of precision was deliberately in contrast with my first attempts at oil painting and it helped me to keep my freedom of development instead of sticking to one formula."