Sternen preferred brush to palette knife and experimented with a divided palette rather modestly. He excelled in suggestive brushstroke and adopted the motif of the forest edge looking outwards, to which Jakopič had been very much attached. Similar motifs also exist in Avgust Berthold’s photography. A forest path leads slightly upward towards the brightened edge of the woods that promises escape and relaxation. However, the path seems blocked with no real exit in sight. The predominantly violet and green colours heightened with white create a sinister atmosphere of unease, anxiety and discouragement. It has been suggested that suicidal thoughts had led Sternen in conception of this painting. Although no date has been added to the signature, the painting has been traditionally dated 1905, a very difficult year in the painter’s life.