The art critic Denis Diderot considered Marie Suzanne Giroust a more accomplished pastellist than her husband, Alexander Roslin. With Maurice Quentin de La Tour as her teacher, she developed great skill in the rendering of fabrics and a technical brilliance based on pastel strokes that left clearly visible traces. All of this can be seen in her portrait of the architect Peyre, which was shown at the Paris Salon of 1771.