Danckerts was a landscape painter born and trained in The Hague who had visited Italy before settling in England during the 1660s and 70s. Records show Danckerts receiving payments from the King in the 1675 and 1679, while the inventories of Charles II and James II include landscapes by him, not all of which can now be identified.

In addition to identifiable (mostly English) topographical views there are ten ‘classical’ landscapes by Danckerts in the collection (OM 402-11, 405180, 406758, 408240, 404073, 404083, 404144, 404132, 402574, 404058, 406531); they depict imaginary Italianate scenes, with classical architecture and statuary, composed in such a way that the distance is always attractively framed by foreground elements in the manner of Claude or Poussin. These landscapes were presumably created to form a set (or sets) fitting into the wood panelling of a palace interior probably over the doors - the only space at this time reserved for landscape painting. Windsor Castle, Hampton Court, St James’s Palace and Whitehall Palace could all have housed some or all of these landscapes in this way - unfortunately it is not possible to say which painting was painted for which palace and in what grouping. The landscapes were almost all used at Kensington and Buckingham House (residences acquired at a later date) so that their original location was lost; some have subsequently been moved (returned possibly) to Hampton Court.

This painting belongs to a group of five (OM 404, 407-9 and 411, RCIN 404144, 408240, 404132, 402574 and 406574) of similar dimensions (two roughly 160 x 130 cm; three roughly 160 x 110 cm) and date (1675-7), which could have been part of a sequence of overdoors.