Two colossal heads of the Greek god Hermes dwarf the principal entrance to the Palace of Fontainebleau known as the Porte Dauphine. Indicating that the palace was still functioning as the royal residence of King Louis Phillipe, Boys included the figure of a kitchen maid hurrying to the palace kitchens, which were just outside the Porte Dauphine.

Boys, who lived in Paris from 1823 to 1837, knew the most picturesque quarters of the French capital and its environs better than most of his contemporaries, and his architectural watercolors were popular with both English and French collectors.