Painted Wall Hanging of a Dutch Landscape with a Country Estate

In the 18th century, well-off Amsterdam families spent the summer months at a buitenplaats, a country estate with a house, a walled garden and a gate onto the road, many of them along rivers such as the Vecht and the Amstel. This tall, narrow canvas shows the entrance to such a place. A wrought-iron gate stands between two stone piers under tall trees, and a young woman with a basket on her arm walks past it. A swan swims on the pond in front.

At the water's edge a man in a hat points across from a stone landing, with a small boy beside him, and at the right a boat flying the red, white and blue Dutch flag lies moored against the bank.