A solitary ruined brick chimney stands at the left of a late-autumn woodland clearing, the remains of an old structure among bare and sparsely leaved trees. Two small, softly painted figures, a woman and a child, walk near it, and a faint farmhouse can be guessed in the middle distance. A lone slender tree stands just right of center against the pale sky.

Thick haze and mist soften every edge, and the tree line dissolves into the sky with no strong horizon. Diffused overcast light casts no shadows, though a pale glow breaks through the clouds just right of center.

In the tonalist, Barbizon-inspired manner, this oil painting uses soft, scumbled brushwork, with loose, feathery strokes for the bare branches and thicker dabs for the brick and stonework. The mood is melancholic, quiet and contemplative.