A grove of slender, twisting oaks stands in the foreground, their trunks bending at sharp angles as they rise from a ground thick with yellow and green undergrowth. The brushwork is energetic and rhythmic, with short, directional strokes that create a sense of movement across the foliage and earth. Patches of sunlight strike the tops of the bushes and the ground, casting the landscape in a golden glow that intensifies toward the horizon.

The sky itself is alive with swirling, layered clouds painted in broad strokes of blue, green, cream, and touches of violet, suggesting the changing light of sunset. A band of deep yellow at the horizon marks the last rays of the sun, contrasting with the cooler tones above and the darker shadows below. Every surface is animated by thick, visible paint, with the texture of the brushstrokes giving a tactile quality to the leaves, earth, and sky.

In the lower right corner, a large pale grey rock sits among the yellow undergrowth, partially obscured by foliage. A patch of blue-green grass emerges in the bottom center foreground, its blades distinct from the surrounding brush. The upper left corner is dominated by the dark, leafy crown of a tall tree, with touches of purple and brown in its foliage.

A single, reddish-brown tree trunk stands almost vertically near the center, contrasting with the more angled trunks around it. The background beyond the grove is a wide, flat plain painted in streaks of ochre and green, stretching toward the horizon. Light falls unevenly across the scene, with the right side of the painting appearing brighter and more saturated than the shadowed left. Sunset at Montmajour was painted by Vincent van Gogh on 4 July 1888, during his stay in Arles.