Along with Picasso, Braque originated Cubism, one of the most important trends in 20th century art. Cubism fundamentally reexamined the use of perspective and shading in European painting as ways of expressing three-dimensional depth in the two-dimensional plane of the painting. This work is one of the most substantial from Braque’s Cubist period. The torso of the woman, divided up into several open surfaces, appears to be endlessly fluctuating as if images from a variety of angles have been pieced together.