A substantial number of 17^th century Dutch artists predicated their work on Italian motifs, giving rise to a brand of painting destined to decorate the homes of wealthy Amsterdam families.

One of these painters was Pynacker, who spent three years of his youth in Italy, where he was profoundly impressed by the Alpine landscape and the grandeur of Roman landscape painting. Many of his landscapes are thought to have been based on sketches he made during his time in Italy and might therefore correspond to Italian, rather than Dutch, views. Like other artists from the Dutch school, Pynacker was both a painter and a printmaker, and worked in several cities, including Delft (near Pynacker’s hometown of Schiedam) and Amsterdam. His technique is characterised by a soft palette, detailed precise drawing—possibly derived from his work as a printmaker—and a thorough study of nature.

The golden twilight flooding the rocks and animals is evocative of Roman landscapes painted by Claude Lorrain (ca.1600-1682), from which Pynacker would have learned as a young man and that he would never forget, being one of the representatives of the Italianate landscape movement in Holland which reached its peak in the mid century.