Virtuoso draftsman Albert de Belleroche was born in England to a rich, aristocratic French family, and he was raised in Paris from infancy. His wealth freed him from having to accept commissions. He often shared studios with close friend John Singer Sargent, until the latter settled in London. Though reserved and perhaps aloof, Belleroche, as he preferred to be called, loved the gaiety of Montmartre and kept a studio opposite the Moulin Rouge. Another longtime friend, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, made Lili Grenier famous through his series of portraits of her, but later she came to model almost exclusively for Belleroche. The intimacy of the model/artist relationship sings through this tender image of Lili asleep.