Bourdon produced the majority of his small naturalistic scenes during his visit to Italy from 1634-7, where he was influenced by the genre paintings of the followers of Pieter van Laer, known as the ‘Bamboccianti’. On his return to Paris in 1637 he continued to paint in the ‘Bamboccianti’ style, but adapted his work to Parisian tastes by using brighter colours than he had in Italy. Around twenty of these genre paintings survive from the years following his return to Paris, including this one. Parallels can be drawn with the work of the Le Nain brothers who were active in France during the first half of the seventeenth century and were well known for their scenes of peasant life.