A student of the Parisian painter of mythological and historical representations, Alexandre Cabanel, Antoine Calbet specialized in painting female nudes. To do this in a setting that was not too shocking for the 19th century, he mainly painted mythological scenes and genre pieces set in Greek or Roman antiquity. In addition, Calbet made a name for himself as a book illustrator. A respected member of the Société des Artistes Français, the artist regularly exhibited at the annual Salons from 1880.