The figure is treated in facets but not really fragmented, rather the planes
follow the contours and the surface of the body, the whole remaining easily
recognizable. There is a certain stiffness in the pose, especially evident in the
arms, which makes the figure resemble a statue.
The leap from illustration art to lightweight genre painting was a felicitous one
in the case of Mauro Malang Santos. Gradually in the 60s, Malang emerged
as a serious artist with a knack for abstract figuration, shedding off his earlier
illustrational manner. Malang trained his mind’s eye to snip from the reel of his
visual memory the truly instant impression that satisfied him.