The work combines elements of Futurism and Cubism[1] to show a funeral procession in a modern urban city, as an infernal abyss populated by twisted and grotesque attendants.

[2] The painting is dedicated to the German psychiatrist and avant-garde writer Oskar Panizza (1853-1921), noted for his play Liebeskonzil which draws on the first historically documented outbreak of syphilis and depicts God the Father as a senile old man.

Panizza's works, in which he rejected militarism and religious authority were deemed blasphemous by the Church and the government of Emperor Wilhelm II.

Explaining his intention when creating the work, Grosz said, "In a strange street by night, a hellish procession of dehumanized figures mills, their faces reflecting alcohol, syphilis, plague ...

"[1] The painting served as the cover artwork for the 1987 album I Am a Wallet by the British rock band McCarthy.