The painting has a remarkably high horizon. The majority of the canvas is taken up by the reddish brown forest floor and a row of three trees. Van Gogh has created depth by depicting the trees in the background smaller. Only the lower portions of the tree trunks are visible. Research has shown that there are pieces of oak leaves in the paint in the lower part of the painting. It is probable that Van Gogh made this painting while kneeling on the ground. He wrote to Theo about how he wrestled with the composition: ‘The great difficulty there was to keep it clear and bring in space between the tree-trunks, which stand at different distances — and the place and relative thickness of the trunks altered by the perspective. To ensure, in short, that one can breathe and wander about in it – and smell the woods.’
Press A for more information about the painting, or press B for more information about Van Gogh’s time in The Hague.