Koninck, who ran a ferry line between Amsterdam and Rotterdam, was known for his large-format panoramic landscapes under high, cloudy skies. The viewer looks out across the wide river plain from a raised vantage point. The painting’s composition, with a detailed view of the foreground to the middle distance, is dictated by the powerful diagonals of the river’s course. The vast expanse in the background stretching as far as the low horizon is accentuated by the narrow, horizontal strips of land.