His models do not pose, but move softly in the muted light of his studio . This search for truth, both intimate and painterly, places Grand-Carteret among the direct heirs of artists such as Léon Bonnat, Lucien Simon and Helleu.

The composition is striking for its sober lines and colors.
No artifice, no superfluous decor: the scene focuses on the beauty of the body, the warmth of the flesh, the roundness of the forms. The play of light and shadow, rendered with infinite delicacy in pastel, brings the skin to life, with pinkish and bluish highlights underlining the curve of the back and the suppleness of the crossed legs.

In the background, a few discreet elements - a cushion, a half-open book, a blue sphere on a shelf - draw the viewer into the sleeper's intimacy.

Far from the posed or theatrical nude, the artist captures a moment of repose, almost abandonment, in which grace and modesty mingle.