Painted circa 1755, this work is representative of Traversi's quest for naturalism and traces its lineage back to Caravaggesque scenes in which colour emerges from the darkness. His humorous take on modern life also served as an inspiration for the prints produced by his contemporary, Hogarth (1697-1764). In this work, as in The Card Party, which is also conserved in the Rouen Museum, a woman (here a harpsichordist, there a card player) attracts the attention of the men around her. Secondary characters are arranged seemingly at random (with the most comical being the "pacchesicco" of Neapolitan comedy), creating uproar around the protagonists and bringing the background to life. The charm of these paintings lies in their impromptu atmosphere. After training under Solimena in Naples and alongside Bonito, also a genre painter, it was after arriving in Rome in 1750 that Traversi began to forge his own particular style influenced by the quest for simplicity and naturalism of Neo-Carrachism.