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In 1931, Lucio Fontana had his first solo exhibition at the Galleria Il Milione in Milan. The exhibition included Fontana's 1930 sculpture 'Uomo nero' (Black Man), a crudely rendered seated nude covered in black tar. This work, now lost, marked a radical break with the teachings of Fontana's former teacher, the symbolist Adolfo Wildt, at the Accademia di Brera in Milan. In Uomo nero, Fontana developed a new ideal of form that broke with academic tradition. Subsequently, in addition to his figurative works, Fontana increasingly created abstract sculptures.

The work 'Figure nere' (Black Figures) from 1931 provides an insight into this early creative phase. The terracotta relief shows the outlines of two figures in motion, one behind the other. Their silhouettes are incised and quickly defined with colour. The material used and, above all, the black colour are reminiscent of charcoal drawings and prehistoric cave paintings. Figure nere' thus recalls the origins of art, such as the cave paintings of Altamira in Spain, which are among the earliest artistic expressions of mankind.