The way to monastery

Tall birch and pine trunks stand close in the foreground of a shaded grove, their bark and branches dark against a glimpse of whitewashed monastery wall visible beyond—an arched window, a plain wooden door, and a section of stone fence emerge between the leaves. The ground is thick with tall grass and small white and violet wildflowers.

Deep greens and near-black shadow dominate the trees and undergrowth, set off by the pale, sunlit wall glimpsed through the gaps. Thick, textured strokes build up the foliage and flowers, while the architecture behind is rendered more smoothly, creating a sense of a hidden, enclosed place glimpsed from shadow into light.