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A great example of intimate interior pictures, it was awarded with the prize of the National Society of Art in 1906. It is closely linked to the atmospheres and colours of "White Wall with White Furniture" and "Flox and Filox", but the intensity and variety of its colours are in favour of "When One Lives on One's Memories". Its composition is superb: by applying space near and far he expresses the physical and psychic departure of the old woman, the central figure of the picture, whose relationship to the world is slowly fading. Greyish-blue of the second space are in an intrinsic contrast with the cheerful foreground full of colours, with elements of Rippl's former pictures, e.g. the red of the colourful head kerchief. The mirror in the axis of the window and the door symbolizes that life and mortality cannot be helped: it is out of use and serves decoration only.
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