Maurice Toesca's six tales in Six contes fantasques (Six Whimsical Tales) mix the fantastic with the real in such a way as to reveal the great truths of life, the force of time, art and nature. This theme, familiar to Picasso, is the central idea behind the artist's illustrations for this book. On April 30, 1944, Picasso made six engravings with burin (creating the velvety burr areas of the lines) which were dated and numbered from 'I' to 'VI' in the plates. These details were burnished out for the larger, unsigned book edition.

Picasso drew this image for the sixth tale titled Le Bois d'enfer (Hell Woods), the author anticipates his own old age. He tells how the 80 year old Monsieur Toesca faces the hard realities of life as he crosses the woods of hell with his double, Monsieur Troïka. This final tale is preceded by the sixth engraving of a woman's profile with a garland of flowers. The image may be compared with certain portraits of Marie-Thérèse Walder but also of Dora Marr. (Patrick Cramer Pablo Picasso, the Illustrated Books, 1983, p. 176)