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This painting depicting a river landscape with figures on a track is an unusual work for van Kessel, only a handful of other peasant scenes by him are known. He typically painted a range of still-lifes and garland pictures, featuring animals, plants and insects. This landscape demonstrates the influence of the Brueghel family on van Kessel: he was trained by his uncle Jan Brueghel the Younger. The crucial compositional feature of the landscape is the river running in a straight line through the work, guiding the eye through the landscape. This was a recurring motif in the landscape painting of both Brueghel the Elder and his son.
The painting is signed lower centre: 'I. V. KESSEL. F.'
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