Study for ''Les derniers jours d'enfance;'' verso: Profile of a Young Man

In her autobiography, Beaux describes the laborious development of Les Deniers jours, from producing a small compositional oil study to constructing the setting of the painting in her studio. To do this, she used family heirlooms as props and created this oil study. It is clear from the study that Beaux worked out the composition well in advance of the finished painting, with the most significant change being the addition of a picture frame hanging on the wall in the upper right side of the finished canvas. Beaux took great care in crafting the work’s composition, as it was important to the artist that viewers interpret this work not simply as a portrait of family but as a universal statement of the transition from infancy to childhood.