This tranquil landscape occupied by a peasant and his cows holds many mysteries. In 1887 Pissarro painted a view of Éragny, a small village on the river Epte about ninety miles northwest of Paris, working in the Neo-Impressionist style with minute dots and strokes of color. Dated 1887 in the lower right corner, the painting was later damaged by a large gash along the left edge. The tear was repaired in 1902, when Pissarro added the second date and painted over large areas of the canvas. The reworked sections, including the sky, were painted with loose, wet brushstrokes that contrast with the small dabs of color from the earlier campaign, which are still visible in the foreground. In the intervening years Pissarro had abandoned the fussy Neo-Impressionist style, complaining that it was time-consuming and overly scientific. It also did not appeal to many collectors, and Pissarro had a family of six children to support. It is not known how the canvas came to be torn; it may have been a simple studio accident, or perhaps Pissarro struck it deliberately in frustration with the cumbersome Neo-Impressionist technique. Jennifer A. Thompson, from Masterpieces from the Philadelphia Museum of Art: Impressionism and Modern Art (2007), p. 60.