The year '21' in the dating alludes to the year in which Man Ray executed the replica of his object Lampshade, which was originally made in 1919 and was subsequently destroyed. The spiral motif in this composition is directly related to Lampshade, in which the shade was cut, unwound, and left hanging from a metal stand. Man Ray had previously used the title Retour à la raison for a film to be produced for a Dada soirée in 1923. By the end of the 1930s Man Ray was continually drawing upon and reinterpreting his own early imagery.

Timothy Baum and Andrew Strauss will include this painting in their forthcoming Man Ray catalogue raisonné.