Van Goyen’s scene shows the banks of a river at a small village. The river is relatively busy with the traffic of small boats. Such rivers and waterways were vital to the success of the Dutch economy which was based on trade, as they allowed for the easy transportation of goods around the country to the major ports for export. In this scene, small steps lead up from the water to the farmhouses that line the riverbank. Here, Van Goyen departed from his normal practice of using a restricted palette, and introduced a little more colour to the scene. This is visible in the areas of blue sky peeping through the fluffy clouds.