Sadly, the first portion of this Georges Méliès film appears to be missing and when you watch, an intertitle card which was made long after the film is added to explain what you missed. Apparently, a painter made a painting of a woman and it came to life. After the artist falls asleep, his assistant attacks the woman and she becomes a painting once again. When the artist soon awakens, he's angry and decapitates his stupid assistant...but that's not the end of it!
I've seen close to 200 Georges Méliès films and a small handful of them are incredibly violent...with burnings at the stake, cannibalism and all sorts of nastiness. I know it might sound lowbrow (and it probably is) but I think these ultra-violent films by the master director are usually among his best! Funny and gruesome...