This is one of the first works Nicholson made after moving to Switzerland. The light and brightness of his works of this period is often associated with the magnificent natural setting of his new home. Nicholson wrote: "I hold the idea that paintings do not stop as paintings but their ideas project into actual life". With this in mind, he often mounted them onto boards of complementary colour, so that the edge of the picture would not be clear-cut. Texture was important to Nicholson and in this work the surface looks rough and worn, deliberately contrasting with the clear colours and simple lines.