Like its pair, Le Bosquet des Bains d’Apollon (inv. 627), this painting depicts the work of cutting and replanting trees in the park of Versailles, as ordered by Louis XVI between the 1774 and 1776. Appointed dessinateur des jardins du roi in 1777, the painter Hubert Robert joined the new fashion for English-style gardens and took part in the renovation of the earlier project that Le Nôtre had conceived for Louis XIV.

Relevant in the composition are the classical group Castor and Pollux, by Antoine Coysevox (Musée national du château, Versailles) and the statue of Milo of Croton, by Pierre Puget (Musée du Louvre, Paris). The scene is set at the entry to the Tapis Vert, with the Bassin d’Apollon in front and the Grand Canal disappearing into the distance. The painting was a variant of a larger canvas depicting the King and Queen, the latter having caused a sensation at the Salon de Paris in 1777 along with its pair.