The division of three-dimensional forms into a two-dimensional plane indicates that the painting is in the style of Analytical Cubism, which was developed by Picasso and Georges Braque between 1907 and 1914.

In 1911, Picasso and Georges Braque spent the summer at Céret, in the French Pyrenees, a period that is considered to be an important moment in the development of Cubism.

Traditional techniques, like modelling and perspective, were replaced by fractured objects reduced to geometric shapes and shallow space.

However, from 1910 to 1912, Picasso and Braque abstracted their works even further, by reducing the subject to just a series of overlapping planes that were more complex and difficult to comprehend.

The painting displays a seated accordionist, which is defined by a series of vertically aligned triangular planes, semicircles and right angles.