With its whirlwind of sketched characters that seem to be twirling around in the air, La Bataille de Tolochenaz conveys the very spirit of futurism. The action is palpable down to the swiftness of the artist’s gestures. Hatches and discontinuous curved lines accentuate the impression of movements propelled from the centre of the composition towards the outside. Through a total explosion of forms, this 1916 painting transmits a dynamism and pictorial energy permeated by the political and social context of the war.