Thinly painted with broad brushstrokes and muted colours, this painting illustrates van de Velde\'s innovative approach to landscape. He eliminated the picturesque and narrative detail seen in the work of his predecessors in favour of rendering an atmospheric effect. Esaias van de Velde played a pioneering role in the development of realistic landscape in Haarlem in the second decade of the 17th century. This painting dates from a few years after he had moved from Haarlem to The Hague