Encounter in the Wood

This painting belongs to the Padernello cycle (a series of about twelve paintings executed for the castle of Padernello). It represents an old man and a girl at the edge of a penumbral wood. The man, seated on a rock and wearily supported himself on a long stick, is probably a war veteran, now fallen into the most dire straits. The young girl is mysteriously faceless and without an identity, she is reduced to a jumble of rags.