Spanish subjects, particularly Spanish woman and toreadors, fascinated Picabia throughout his life. He created numerous pencil sketches, often overlaid with simple colour washes, which seek to capture the Spanish temperament, often c🔥haracterised by a combination of hauteur and sensuality in the sitter.

This work, dating from 1921, marks Picabia's return to figurative art after his Dadaist period. The style is slightly different from his earlier depictions of this subject, the forms being simpler and bolder, with much stronger contrasts of colour. Unlike many of his fellow Dada artists, Picabia's work always retained figurative elements, and his decision to return to a more 'conservative' style reflects his frustration at the limitations imposed by Dada; 'The reason [for the change in style] is just that I thought I had done everything there was to be done in abstract art, in the art of suggestions...' (Picabia quoted in Michael Sanouillet, Francis Picabia et "391", Paris, 1966, vol. II, p. 149).