He was one of the members of the first modern generation in Portuguese painting, like Amadeo de Souza Cardoso and Almada Negreiros.
When World War I broke out he returned to Lisbon with his friend Amadeo de Souza Cardoso and other fellow Portuguese.
He spent 1915-16 working with the Orphist painters Robert and Sonia Delaunay in Vila do Conde.
One of the best examples of this motif is his 1916 painting 'In Revolt', in which he showed Portuguese life through colorful arcs.
In 1917, he painting 'K4: The Blue Square', considered a homage to Portuguese modernism, was inspired by the book of the same name by Almada Negreiros and was dedicated to Amadeo.