In December 1866, Winslow Homer sailed from Boston for a year of study in France. Since the early 1850s he had known the principles of French painting, particularly the outdoor style of the Barbizon school. While in France, Homer spent most of his time working in Paris and the rural village of Cernay-la-Ville in Picardy, about 40 miles from the French capital. This oil sketch was probably painted there.