Colour was fundamental to his understanding, and painters such as Matisse and the Venetians influenced him all his artistic life along with many others, although perhaps Cézanne, Morandi, Poussin and Ingres were closest to his heart. Uglow described to an interviewer the inspiration for his still life "Lemon" (1973):I'll tell you what "Lemon" is about ... It's the dome at Volterra that Brunelleschi was supposed to have helped with. It's most beautiful, very simple, very lovely. I couldn't paint the dome there, so when I came back I thought I'd try to paint it from a lemon. "Zagi" (1981–82), which depicts a standing nude, was inspired by a children's toy of an acrobat, with the word "Zagi" itself being Chinese for acrobat.