Mauve first visited Laren in north Holland in 1882, and settled there three years later. He was inspired by rural village life and often observed the farm labourers in the surrounding fields. In this painting a farm labourer is digging the earth, probably preparing the ground for sowing. The subject of the labourer and the dark tone of the painting reflect Mauve’s debt to the work of the French Barbizon school, especially Jean-François Millet who specialised in peasant subjects.