The structure with a thatched roof to the left is nearing the end of its usefulness, while the brick cottage with a tiled roof to the right was probably imagined by the artist as the newest house nestled among the trees. The small church in the right background would have been about two hundred years old in the artist's lifetime and indicates that the modest houses, although placed according to no particular plan, form the center of a rural village.
This confidently painted panel probably dates from about 1665 and depicts Hobbema's quintessential theme of quiet village life.
