This is one of five works from 1888–1889 in which Monet painted the haystacks near his home in Giverny; the rounded bases and cone-shaped tops of these haystacks were characteristic of the region. This group of works preceded the large series of haystacks Monet would create two years later.

Monet was deeply interested in the effects of light on the surroundings, and in the way form and color are perceived. In order to seize the fleeting moment, he used short, dynamic brushstrokes and created a vacillating surface charged with energy.
The haystack and the hills constitute conspicuous and massive forms; in contrast, the almost vanishing poplars epitomize the growing abstract tendency in Monet's art.