The chief interest of this print lies in its use of the technique of lithography combined with gaufrage (embossing) in five colours. A patent for embossing wallpapers was issued in 1834, and embossing from engraved rollers for prints and other decorative paper products was widely used by the later 19th century.

Charpentier's contribution to the art of printmaking at the turn of the 19th century is of great importance. A sculptor, as well as a painter and printmaker, he was seeking a way of progressing beyond the use of texture in lithography (as used by the avantgarde artist-groups the Nabis and the Symbolists) to create a three-dimensional surface. He achieved this by using a plaster relief block embossed over lithographed line and colour. La Fille au Violon is one of the most beautiful of Charpentier's relief prints; it shows the influence of Art Nouveau in the flowing lines, and the simple asymmetric composition is clearly inspired by Japanese prints.