Mr. Michael Robinson, judging from a photograph, considers the present picture to have been painted 'probably substantially' by Willem van de Velde the Younger and dates it to c.1690 on stylistic grounds and because of the appearance of the ships and flags, particularly the 'double prince' ensign on one of the barges. He points out that, as no signature has been noted in any catalogue, the painting may have been signed on the back of the back of the original canvas; in fact it is recorded as signed in the catalogue of the 1857 Manchester Art Treasures exhibition. No other version of the composition is known.
When the picture was first recorded, by John Smith in 1835, the subject was given as 'A View off the Entrance to the Brill River', presumably meaning the Maas with Brielle (den Briel) on its southern side. This identification may well be correct, as the Maas takes a bend by Brielle before joining the open sea, although it could equally well represent the Haringvliet further south between Hellevoetsluis and Goedereede. In either case the subject is probably the assembly of the fleet of Willem of Orange off the mouth of the Maas in 1688 in preparation
for his departure to assume the throne of England. Encountering adverse weather conditions, the fleet turned back on October 21st to anchor off either Brielle or Hellevoetsluis before finally setting sail for England on November 1st. Robinson suggests that such a scene might well have been commissioned by the commander of one of the transport vessels