In 1924, when Gargallo settled for good in Paris, he began one of the most interesting periods in his artistic career as regards experimenting with a language of his own that was to culminate in works like The Large Ballerina, of which there are three versions. Gargallo cut up pieces of card in order to make the metal pieces, in this case iron, which he subsequently assembled. The sculpture combines realist aesthetics with Cubist solutions and incorporates empty space as an element of volume.