White Torso is one of the earliest examples of a Mixografía print on handmade paper. Wet paper pulp was pressed onto an inked plate and then passed through the printing press. This innovative approach not only provided a stronger paper, but also the possibility of creating works of variable size and thickness—and the groundbreaking ability to produce a three-dimensional print. The rough, uncut edges of the paper, extending beyond the printed image, evidence this method of making the paper and impression simultaneously.

As Rufino Tamayo focused on the textures created by the ink and paper, he refined the subject of White Torso into a simple outline anchored by a vertical cross, with no differentiation in color or texture between the figure and the background. Without the stark white outlines, the figure would disappear, indistinguishable from its surroundings.