Hynckes deserted from the Belgian army in 1914 and fled to the Netherlands. He found a studio on Prinseneiland and painted a barge moored at the quay of tar merchant De Roo Vos, just a stone’s throw away. From his vantage point on Sloterdijk bridge he had a view of the railway with the Haarlemmer Houttuinen district beyond, the barge in the foreground and the winch used to hoist goods from the hold.