Most of van der Heyden’s landscapes are much smaller in scale than this one and can safely dated from towards the end of his long career. This broad landscape, however, could well come from the artist’s earlier years when he was still dependent on other painters’ influences, in this instance probably the Haarlem artist Jan Wijnants (1630-1684). The rocky hills, ruins and village all seem to be imaginary and are certainly unrelated to any local Dutch landscape. The picture shows Van der Heyden’s mastery of clear even lighting which he was to use with such effect in his depictions of buildings, both real and imaginary. The figures may have been added by another hand, as the artist did not normally paint his own figures.

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