In the early 1950s, Nonda worked nights in factories and tailor shops in order to support himself and buy materials. The streets surrounding Montmartre as well as the outskirts of Paris were overflowing with poor workers, prostitutes, musicians and street peddlers. During this time he produced a series of paintings executed with strong, sweeping brushstrokes which captured the sadness and destitution of this marginal society. Their faces expose emotion and implore the viewer to understand. Often depicted partially nude, the figures expose their humanity in its totality.