A preparatory study for this arcadian landscape can be found in the City Archive of Amsterdam. That sheet bears the inscription ‘G. Versteegh’ on the verso, alluding to Gerrit Versteegh, the prominent Amsterdam wine merchant for whom the present picture was executed. The existence of two further preparatory studies in the City Archive, of an identical height but greater breadth suggests the present lot is the central panel of a series that were commissioned from Andriessen for the house on the Singel canal that Versteegh bought in 1770.