during the first world war, scharff was involved in grønningen, a new artists' cooperative with an interest in cubism. his cubist tendencies can clearly be seen in his "legende i" (1911, randers kunstmuseum) and in a series of pictures depicting poultry (1917–1918) and representing harmony between man and nature. his style was inspired by cubism and the abstract art movement while many of his subjects were based on his upbringing with his grandparents in the farming community of tisvilde in the north of zealand.