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According to tradition, Kostverloren manor was built around 1500 south of Amsterdam on a bend in the Amstel river. Kostverlore ("lost cost") owed its name to the large sums needed to prop up the manor as it sank in the marshy ground on the banks of the Amstel. It was built possibly as an extension to an extant donjon. Parts of the building were demolished between 1659 and 1664, whereupon the house was rebuilt. It was razed in 1822.
The picturesque ruins of Kostverloren exerted great attraction on artists and feature in many works, among them in a number of drawings and etchings by Rembrandt. The present painting by Ruisdael shows Kostverloren after the start of the demolition work and before the rebuilding.
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