Anita Malfatti’s studies in Germany and in the United States led her to seek more freedom in her compositions, pushing her to improve the anatomy and the stances of her figures and consequently, setting her free from the faithful imitation of reality in a burst of colors and brushstrokes. She built a language of her own when approaching the human figure and especially the female theme, which is quite recurrent in her work. This can be seen in "Portrait of Lalive", a painting featured in the artist’s solo exhibition in São Paulo, in 1917.