With its dynamic composition, lush color, and energetic forms, The Leap of the Rabbit exemplifies the unique style Portuguese artist Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso developed while working in Paris from 1906 to 1914. Souza-Cardoso drew on an eclectic mix of sources he encountered in the French capital, including Art Nouveau, the work of Paul Cézanne, and exotic costume designs of Léon Bakst for the Ballets Russes, as well as the native Iberian tilework of his homeland. The Leap of the Rabbit was included in the groundbreaking 1913 International Exposition of Modern Art (better known as the Armory Show), the first major exhibition introducting American audiences to European avant-garde art, where it was purchased by the Chicago collector Arthur Jermone Eddy.