With his unique style, which involved painting without the intention of creating an illusion, he, along with other prominent Latin-American artists such as Diego Rivera and Tarsila do Amaral, sparked a revolution of identity in the art world of Latin America.

During the same year in which he received his degree, Figari studied under Godofredo Sommavilla, an academically trained Italian painter, got married, and went to France.

"On his return to Uruguay he became actively involved in journalism, law and politics as well as fostering the creation of the Escuela de Bellas Artes.

[…] He was a member of the Uruguayan Parliament, president of the Ateneo of Montevideo and director of the Escuela Nacional de Artes y Oficios.

His early paintings were "tight watercolor and oil sketches [that had both] academic charm [and] the expert domestic intimacy of Manet and Degas".

Here, he "created figurative compositions as arrangements of colour, reconstructing rather than documenting the Uruguayan scene; the geography, gaucho life, the celebrations, symbolic rituals and carnivals of the local black community.

Figari painted during a period in which the members of the art community in South America were in the process of struggling to find their own personal style.

He "considered that European civilization had entailed the loss of a harmonious and simple life, while America offered the possibility of returning to the origins.

It is what is considered a naïve style: one that "allowed him to caricature the social conventions of the bourgeoisie in his native Uruguay with a sort of wide-eyed innocence.

By distancing himself from a common European style that permitted only academic traditions, he helped viewers learn to celebrate the culture of their country.