In 1912, the Launois family moved to Tours, where they became friends with the Chavaillon family. On his return from a stay in Algeria from 1920 to 1922, Jean Launois was awarded the Indochina Prize in 1923 and embarked on a short trip to Hanoi. This portrait of a young girl was probably drawn from life while the artist was still in Vietnam in 1924. He returned to Paris later that year, where he exhibited his work for the first time two years later.