Finding an affinity with French and Italian painting during his travels around Europe in the late 1950s, Brooker made a stark change to this international style; from nudes indebted to Sickert and English anecdotal Impressionism, he began to paint these austere still life paintings with nods to the architectural constructs of his fellow London Group artists including Coldstream and Pasmore. In portraying an assemblage within his studio, the artist has balanced his spare still life with strong architectural lines and the shadows they cast. His mature paintings are noted for their cool simplicity, tonal stillness and strong compositions. A subtle depth of colour – what appears to be near-monochromatic whiteness reveals blues and fresh tan – and profound understanding of form elevate his subject to create a work that is at once minimal, yet stimulating.