A smalschip in an estuary with two fishermen in the foreground

Although best known for his landscapes and river views, Salomon van Ruysdael also painted a small number of marines depicting vessels in estuaries. These intimately scaled works employ a lower horizon line marked by a small strip of land in the distance, allowing more space to be dedicated to the depiction of the sky and billowing clouds. Some of these estuary pictures feature recognizable cities in the distance, but here Ruysdael chooses to focus on the everyday activities of the fishermen with their baskets and the play of light on water rather than topographical accuracy. To achieve his distinctive atmospheric effects, Ruysdael painted rapidly, wet-over-wet, on a buff or pink ground. This characteristic technique is visible here, especially in the thick white clouds at upper right.