Here the handling of space has a distinctive feel. The spatial structure is clearly defined and organized in horizontal bands crossed by the vertical lines of the upright chair. This grid-work of lines is beautifully disturbed by the gentle motion of the mother's lovingly bent head kissing the child. The flowing line is echoed in the cascading folds of the mother's wrap, redeveloped in a similar figure in La Vie (1903).
The highly expressive style is reminiscent of the 16th-century Spanish Mannerist master, El Greco (1541-1614), whom Picasso studied during his brief time in Madrid in 1896, reflected in the exaggerated, enlarged hands and the long, tapering fingers.