Sir George Clausen (1852-1944) was the son of a decorative painter of Danish descent. His training included a few months at the Académie Julian, Paris, in 1883 and his work was influenced by French plein-air painting.

He was particularly interested in effects of light, often showing figures set against the sun, but he always retained a sense of solidity of form. With other like-minded painters he was a founder of the New English Art Club in 1886. From 1904 to 1906 he was professor of painting at the Royal Academy. 

This Dutch scene shows the impact contemporary continental artists had upon Clausen before the influence of the French Impressionists became stronger. He has posed the figures against the warm evening light so that the light is not only absorbed or reflected by objects but is caught in the transparent material of the nuns' habits and in the flowers. The artist seems to paint the light itself, not simply the objects revealed by it.