This is one of at least six views by Ruisdael of Egmond aan Zee, a small fishing village on the North Sea not far from his native city of Haarlem. Jacob became the greatest of all Dutch landscape artists. This painting is remarkable for the precociously brilliant handling of light effects in the sky, the sea, and dancing over the rooftops. The details of the landscape, especially the figures, are quite broadly painted, but the sense of space and atmosphere is convincing. The imposing church was a victim of coastal erosion. The chancel had already collapsed by the date of this painting, and the last remains of its tower fell in 1743.