This is one in a series of abstract paintings Popova produced in 1916, called Painterly Architectonics. These works are characterized by dynamic, overlapping planes which seem to float in space. In creating these paintings, Popova was influenced by the work of the Russian artist Kasimir Malevich, who had reduced the cubist style to a basic language of squares and rectangles. The coloured diagonal shapes in this painting suggest movement but also a sense of balance. The modelling of the shapes suggests a light source from outside the frame.