Moving from architectural draftsman to painter, Léger sought his own style under the influence of Cézanne and Analytical Cubism and became the premier avant-garde painter prior to World War I. After the war, he depicted modern society and human beings in harmony through subjects such as machines and laborers. This painting is from shortly after he was released from the army; at that period, he was deliberately composition with a wide variety of elements. The brushwork is planar. With contrasts between circular and rectangular forms and between black and white, the placement of other colors and the close tie between color and form create a lucid composition.