Charpentier stands in a doorway with cigarette and cane in this original black-and-white photograph. To the left of his image he has written a quotation from Julien's part from the third act of his beloved opera Louise. (He does not sign it). Very attractively presented in a black and gold frame.

Louise premiered at the Opéra Comique in 1900. Its remarkable popularity endured throughout the first half of the century. By 1901 the Opéra Comique had performed it one hundred times; by 1921, five hundred; by 1950, nearly a thousand. And the immediate success the opera enjoyed at its premiere led to productions in Brussels, Budapest, Milan, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Geneva, and New York in the seven years ensuing. It is easily Charpentier's greatest success and still holds a place in the repertory today.