A antlered stag stands alert at the centre of a forest clearing. Around him, two does graze and others look on, and a spotted fawn stands near the water. A huge oak with spreading branches rises overhead, dense undergrowth fills the left, and a stream runs over rocks on the right. Conifers and hills show in the distance under a lightly hatched sky.

The picture is built from fine hatching and cross-hatching in dark ink on warm cream paper. It looks like a nineteenth-century natural-history print, and the effect is calm and detailed.