This work is an example of a technique used by Nicholson where he would work on a piece of paper then adhere it to a primed board. The result is more akin to his relief works, yet it retains the qualities of oil wash and pencil on paper. The irregular shape of the paper is a format that Nicholson continued to explore through printmaking from 1965. The circle is also a feature in much of Nicholson’s work of this time but here it is given greater authority through the title - Archimedes (about 287-212 BC) was a Greek mathematician and philosopher who wrote important works on geometry.