In 1750 Schýtz became court painter to Landgrave William VII of Hessen-Kassel. His stay brought about a change in his style, since in the collection of Baron Häckel, the advisor of William VII, Schýtz could study the work of Herman Saftleven, the 17th century Rotterdam painter of Rhenish landscapes. His indebtness to Saftleven stays clear throughout his oeuvre, although, as P. Stahl points out in Vom Zauber des Rheins ergriffen, 1992, p.205, Schýtz's landscapes are more idealistic than those of his predecessor. The present lot dates from the artist's best years.