Rousseau began this painting in 1852 to record the clearing of a part of the Forest of Fontainebleau, an action he bitterly opposed. According to the artist's friend and biographer Alfred Sensier, the grandeur of the huge old oak at the right is meant to contrast poignantly with the saplings just beginning to rise on the left. The picture was completed two years later and is among the very few works dated by the artist. It was shown in the Salon of 1855.

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