'Who Can This Be?'

Leslie's 'Who Can This Be?' depicts a scene of social curiosity and romantic speculation — a woman examining something or someone while her companions speculate on identity. The subject, drawn from the tradition of comedic social observation, exemplifies the vein of gentle humor and social intelligence that characterized Leslie's best genre work. His painting style, influenced by Watteau and the eighteenth-century French masters he admired, combined elegant surface treatment with psychological acuity, giving his social comedies a quality of sophisticated amusement rather than mere prettiness. The painting demonstrates his mastery of the literary genre scene at its most entertaining.

The domestic interior is rendered with careful attention to furnishings and light. Leslie's handling of the figures' expressions captures the moment of curiosity and surprise with theatrical precision.