While staying in France in 1876, Oscar Törnå discovered French plein-air painting. This novelty of painting outdoors is illustrated in his forest landscape from Fontainebleau. In the centre of the picture stands the artist’s portable easel. The canvas size indicates that this is no small oil study but a full-scale work. Other Swedish artists besides Törnå were beginning to take an interest in the new trend of plein-air, or outdoor painting at the time, and the style thus became established also in Sweden.