Ruisdael is considered by many to be one of the originators of the landscape as an independent subject matter. His most characteristic paintings are those in which massive oak trees with craggy branches tower above the rugged countryside. As in this work, the figure seems dwarfed by the elements of nature. The mood is of solitude and melancholy: clouds are gloomy, heavy and gray, and the greens of the grass and foliage are dark.
