Renoir depicts the five-year-old daughter of his devoted patron Paul Berard, a diplomat and banker whom he met in 1878. The artist often summered at the Berards' country home in Wargemont, near Dieppe, on the Normandy coast, where he painted decorative pictures for the house and a veritable family album of portraits, ranging from formal commissions to more intimate works that reflect a genuine fondness for the four Berard children. According to Margot's nephew, Renoir painted this spirited portrait to cheer her up after a disagreeable lesson with her German tutor had brought her to tears.