In contrast to Greuze's painting, "The Beloved Mother" and his study of The Well-Loved Mother (see this database), in which tired mothers reap some satisfaction from the love and demands of their children, in this picture, a woman is simply exhausted. The children pay her no heed--they are occupied with each other--yet, because they are close by, they are clearly her responsibility. It is not clear whether the woman is their mother or whether she has been assigned to watch them. Unlike other French painters of his era, Greuze often painted domestic scenes and his depictions of people are highly empathetic.