Between April 1879 and March 1880 C┼╜zanne lived in Melun, where, inspired by the poplars and rivers, he worked on the hills at M┼╜e. The combination of trees and water is a recurring theme in his work, in both the pure landscapes and the bathing scenes. Although he painted the large stretch of water of the Bay of Marseilles at LΓÇÖEstaque, he also liked the running water of streams and rivers and the smooth surface of lakes.
No human is present in this landscape, which was painted on the banks of the River Almont in the little village of Maincy, to the east of Melun, towards the end of spring or at the beginning of summer in 1879. The composition avoids all anecdotal or sentimental details, and in this it differs from CorotΓÇÖs landscapes, which show washerwomen or peasant women by the waterΓÇÖs edge. C┼╜zanneΓÇÖs landscape does not pretend to be anything other than what it is: a tangle of geometric shapes formed by the tree trunks and branches and by the bridge, which stands out from the colourful but formless background of the foliage and water. A wooden footbridge linking two stone arches runs across the centre of the composition. The painting is entirely built up of slanting
