This late work was painted at Saint-Paul Asylum in Saint-Rémy, inspired by an 1872 engraving by Gustave Doré of the exercise yard (le bagne) at Newgate Prison.

Rather than copying Doré's print, he worked from a more distinct woodblock reproduction by Héliodore Pisan [fr], from a Dutch magazine, De Katholieke Illustratie [nl] (6 (1872–1873), no.

The work is dominated by depressing tones of blue and green in the shadowy depths of the yard, with splashes of red on the better lit bricks above, and two small white butterflies higher up.

Van Gogh wrote to his brother Theo that he found it difficult to execute this work and his painting of Men Drinking (after Honoré Daumier).

Émile Bernard wrote of "Convicts walking in a circle surrounded by high prison walls, a canvas inspired by Doré of a terrifying ferocity and which is also symbolic of his end.