Born in the French region of Lorraine, Claude established himself in Rome as a highly innovative painter and draughtsman. He had an important impact on later artists, including John Constable who described him as ‘the most perfect landscape painter the world ever saw’. His distinctive drawings are characterised by a thoughtful mixture of media. In his depiction of trees in this study sheet, the contrast and variation of graphite, chalk, ink and wash convey a sense of texture and volume as well as the interaction between light and shadow.