Stefan Johansson's upbringing in Värmland meant a great deal for his orientation in life. Nature had a strong hold on his soul, which manifested itself in his art as well as in the national romantic poems he wrote throughout his life. "Höstkväll vid älven" was created during the artist's later years when landscape studies and cloud studies became increasingly common. Celestial phenomena fascinated him, and their mystique permeates even Johansson's most realistic works. The interplay between light and darkness serves as a metaphor for the artist's sometimes turbulent inner landscape. Johansson's works go beyond the purely visual and reach the emotional core of the viewer.

Stefan Johansson's sparse production can primarily be divided into four thematic circles: interiors and cityscapes in light, portraits, and forest landscapes. Streetlights reflecting in water was a motif that early captured Johansson's interest and one he regularly returned to throughout the remainder of his artistic career.

Stefan Hammenbeck writes in "Stefan Johansson. Only Time and Life Were Enough," 2007: "It can be documented that Johansson, with careful interest, took part in the art exhibitions that were shown in Stockholm during his time there. For Strömbom, he recounted how he and other academy boys saw Eugène Jansson's and Nils Kreuger's exhibition at Blanch's art salon in the autumn of 1898. 'The academy boys - flocked like hissing crows around the [with 'the' he means himself], who was foolish enough to position himself as understanding of Jansson's art - who through years of evening and night wanderings had immersed themselves in these atmospheres and therefore immediately sensed how true and personal he was.'"