Pissarro excelled at depicting lowly subjects of peasants quietly engaged in their work. The use of aquatint gives a soft, atmospheric effect that appealed to the Impressionists, of whom he was a recognized leader. The light suggested by the negative spaces in the canopy above or the sun glinting off the figures’ shoulders is almost tangible.

The convention of signing and numbering prints began only in the late 1800s. Pissarro’s signature and notations identifying this as the fourth state ("4e état") and that he pulled the print himself ("tirée par C.P.") is an early example of a marketing strategy that adds commercial value to a print.