A view over the River IJ with a prospect of Amsterdam. In the centre foreground we see the shield of Amsterdam, surmounted by the emperor´s crown. Above this is the model of a ship, held fast by a woman. To the left is a group of people surrounding a map which shows the city plan of Amsterdam; to the left of them is a fisherman. Beside him an anchor and the figure of Neptune. At the extreme right a man is busy with bales of goods. This is presumably a sketched design for a larger painting or print. Ludolf Bakhuysen, who came from Emden, settled in Amsterdam in about 1650. He specialized in seascapes and paintings of ships. After both Willem van de Velde the Elder and Younger went to England, he was the foremost marine painter in Amsterdam.