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This painting combines the genres of portrait with still-life. The ordinary woman in her plain, blue dress is viewed frontally, and the vertical axis of the painting passes through her. A vertical line appears to run from the parting in her hair, via the bridge of her nose, down to the fold in the centre of her dress, emphasizing the upright bearing of the figure and giving her a dignified, solemn presence. Cézanne invests everyday objects with a presence comparable to that of the figure. The apparent fold in the centre of the painting has formal parallels in the spoon in the cup and the handle of the coffeepot. Both verticals are further elongated by the shadow. The circle of the cup is echoed in the collar of the dress, and the fold in the tablecloth is repeated in the folds of the dress.
Of all colours used, none stands out from the rest. The rust red of the tablecloth recurs in the figure and in the dress, as does the metallic blue of the coffeepot. Even the pink and white tones of the flower pattern on the wallpaper shine through underneath the blue of the dress.
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