This work by Belgian surrealist Paul Delvaux was inspired by his friend, the novelist
It was created as an illustration for a novel written by Claude Pascal.
However, the two men fell out and the work was not used as an illustration.

The work was later produced as a copperplate engraving by Delvaux himself, and hand-coloured by his family and published after his death.
It was created as a set of eight pieces as an oshie (pressed picture) for the novel, and is structured to match the story of the novel.

The story itself is as follows:

Jules and Marie are a married couple who have been together for many years, but one day Marie dies of an illness. Jules is unable to part with his wife in grief, and comes up with the idea of ​​stuffing her and preserving her likeness forever.
Jules hires a taxidermist to immortalize Marie, and the stuffed specimen continues to live the same life she did when she was alive, while Jules begins a new life with his wife.
As time passes, Jules grows older, but his wife Marie, rather than getting older, mysteriously seems to get younger. Unable to bear this, Jules ends up dismembering her.

The illustrations are created to accompany a mysterious story of separation, reunion, and then separation again.