The two women depicted here are Misia Natanson and her sister-in-law, the acress Marthe Mellot. Misia was wife of Thadée Natanson, one of the owners and editors of the avant-garde journal La Revue Blanche. This periodical sponsored the art of the Nabis, and both the offices and the Natanson's home became gathering places for the young artists of the group.