The present picture is comparable in technique to Cuyp's work of the early 1650s. In particular, the sparkling contre jour effect, transparent treatment of the water and reflections, and sultry, expressive sky relate it stylistically to works such as The River Crossing, Wallace Collection, London, panel, 17¼ x 21in., a A View of Dordrecht, National Trust, Ascott (S. Reiss, Albert Cuyp, London, 1975, pp. 135 and 137, nos. 96 and 98), and that sold in these Rooms, 30 April 1937, lot 99.

The compostion, seemingly so natural, is in fact carefully formal and refined, both compositionally and tonally. Intersecting diagonals lead into the picture along the line of the three ships, and along the direction of the river. The illusion of three dimensional space is reinforced by the reducing perspective of the boats and their accompanying reflections, and by the sweeping diagonal of the clouds, which is mirrored in reverse by the direction of the river.

The exact location of the view in the present picture has not been identified, but it may represent the river Maas, with the tower of the Cathedral of Dordrecht dimly visible to the left of the windmill in the centre right background.