This densely wooded landscape shows the entrance to the Vieux Dormoir du Bas Bréau in the Forest of Fontainebleau, south of Paris. The area was favoured by the artists of the Barbizon School, of which Díaz was a leading member. Every day he would sketch in the forest, despite his wooden leg, the result of a poorly treated snake bite. The scale of this work, however, suggests it was finished in the studio, brought to life with strong contrasts of light and shade and white highlights.