Camille Pissarro painted this tranquil scene soon after joining his friends and fellow Impressionists Monet, Renoir, and Sisley in the countryside northwest of Paris, where they had recently settled. As a group, the artists combined inspiration from past generations with their own innovative ideas to create a style characterized by bold, broken brushwork and shimmering color. With unprecedented freshness, Pissarro captured the atmosphere of a lazy, rural afternoon. The trees’ leafless branches suggest winter or early spring.