This work has been built up with layers of paint thickly applied with a palette knife, creating a rich mosaic of colours. Riopelle loved nature and strove to capture a sense of the feeling of places and things in his work. Many of Riopelle's paintings are inspired by landscapes: Ventoux is a mountain north of Marseille. The large area of green to the left of the centre and the black on the right suggest living and dead forests.