Richard Oelze saw reproductions of works by Jean Arp, Max Ernst, and René Magritte for the first time in 1929 during a trip to Switzerland, in what would become a decisive moment in his career. Three years later, Oelze left his native Germany for Paris, where he met members of the Surrealist movement, including André Breton, Paul Eluard, and Salvador Dalí. He was soon accepted into the group and his work was presented at the Salon des surindépendants of 1933. This drawing, featuring meticulous, almost obsessive, strokes, is typical of his work during this period. The imaginary, ethereal landscape, populated by strange forms, combinations fauna and flora, evoke the atmosphere of a dream or premonition. The undercurrent of suffering permeating the scene is perhaps an expression of the fears and hardships experienced by the artists when Nazism took hold of Germany.