Signed and dated 1817 Three men in classical dress are coming to the aid, if she is not beyond aid, of a woman who has been hit by the falling branches of a tree struck by lightning or has herself been struck by lightning. The storm is passing and sunshine is breaking through in the distance. This dramatic and colouristically satisfying painting captures the turbulence of the atmosphere, which still remains as the storm departs. In the Louvre there is a painting by Michallon, vertical in format, in which the same group of figures appears beneath a stricken tree of different proportions but of the same species. It was predicted that one day Michallon would become a 'Poussin moderne'. However, his early death prevented him from reaching full maturity as an artist.