Filming Émile Zola's "La Bête Humaine" inspired Renoir to "make a break, and perhaps get away from naturalism completely, to try to touch on a more classical, more poetic genre." While shooting, Renoir began listening to baroque music by Louis Couperin, Jean-Philippe Rameau, Jean-Baptiste Lully and André Grétry. He later said "Little by little, my idea took shape and the subject got simpler. I kept living on baroque rhythms, and after a few more days, the subject became more and more precise." He also said he began imagining Simone Simon "moving to the spirit of the music." This preoccupation with baroque music during filming led to Renoir's original idea of adapting "Les Caprices de Marianne" into a film.