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Corot's work, combining Classical clarity of composition, the emotional perception of nature of the Romantic artists, and realistic observation of lighting effects, was of particular importance for the development of landscape painting in the 19th century. He was to have an immense influence on the Impressionists.
The composition of this work is based on a contrast between the dark foreground and the bright distance. The high trees, seen as dark silhouettes against the pinkish-yellow clouds, form a frame to the central area, in which a distant panorama opens up. The warm light of the setting sun slips across the leaves and colours the sky on the horizon with pearly-gold tones.