Rauzier is fascinated by racines, which is the French word for roots. That is why he placed the girl beneath his family tree, holding a photograph of his maternal great-grandfather, the realist painter Jules-Alexis Meunier.

If you look closely, you’ll find a number of “Easter eggs”—in this case, hidden genealogical details. The work took many weeks to create, especially the separation of the many irregular and diaphanous branches from the sky.

This photo is one of a series of 12 photographs that Rauzier has created called Les Belles Endormies, or Sleeping Beauties. It was inspired by the novella, House of the Sleeping Beauties, written by Nobel Prize-winning Japanese author Yasunari Kawabata (1899 - 1972). The haunting novel is about a brothel where old men pay to watch beautiful young girls sleep. In order to create this immense level of detail, Rauzier shot about ten photos of the carpet, over 20 of the young lady, over 100 of the floor, over 200 of the wall, and over 200 of the picture within the picture.