The roots, painted in bold strokes of blue, lavender, and green, snake horizontally and diagonally, some plunging into the ochre earth, others arching upward or curling around each other. Patches of vivid green foliage cling to the upper portions of the roots, their leaves rendered in short, energetic dashes of paint that contrast with the broader, swirling lines of the wood. No sky or horizon is visible; the entire scene is pressed close to the picture plane, immersing the viewer in the dense undergrowth and making the forms appear almost abstract.

The paint is applied thickly, with visible ridges and grooves, creating a tactile surface that heightens the sense of vitality and movement within the scene. Small details, such as the knotted textures of bark and the curling tips of roots, are picked out with quick, expressive marks, giving each section of the painting its own energy. Tree Roots was created by Vincent van Gogh in 1890 during his stay in Auvers-sur-Oise, a small town north of Paris. The subject is difficult to identify at first glance, as the forms verge on abstraction, but the viewer can discern the interlocking roots and trunks of trees.

Some art historians, such as Jan Hulsker, consider this work to be the most original of Van Gogh's double-square canvases. The painting was made in July 1890, and some sources suggest it may be the artist's last work before his death later that month. In 2020, Wouter Van der Veen identified the probable location of the scene as rue Daubigny in Auvers-sur-Oise, about 150 metres from Auberge Ravoux, where Van Gogh stayed.

The Van Gogh Museum notes that Tree Roots was stolen in 1991 along with other paintings, but was successfully recovered. The painting’s energetic surface and focus on the act of painting itself anticipate developments in abstract art and German expressionism, as noted by Van der Veen and Knapp.