Pool in a Harem was painted in 1875 by order of the great prince Alexander Alexandrovich (the future emperor Alexander III) and was on display at the 1876 Salon under the name Turkish Women at Bath; later, it was one of the works of art that made up a continuous exhibition of French painting of the 19th century. On March 22nd, 2001, the painting was barbarically ripped from its frame and stolen from the halls of the State Hermitage Museum. In December 2006, it was found in Moscow, and on January 29th, 2007, it was returned to the Hermitage.

The condition of the painting when it was returned was characterized as disastrous. The canvas was crumpled, the fragile fibers of the thin base layer had frayed and suffered friction damage. A cross-shaped perforation had formed along the fold lines, which separated the painting into four parts that were held together by only a few threads.

From 2007 to 2009, this work by the French master underwent a complex process of restoration in the State Hermitage Museum’s Laboratory for Scientific Restoration of Easel Oil Paintings (T.P. Alyoshina, artist-restorer of the highest category, M.V. Shulepova, artist-restorer of the first category).