This view, which recalls the rocky waterfalls of Van Everdingen (q.v.), may also have been inspired by Ruisdael’s travels on the Dutch-German border in c.1650–1651. The splintered trees, dramatic sky and the scale of the rocky outcrop, which overwhelms the tiny figures and cottages perched precariously above, suggests the insignificance of man before nature. The waterfall and the flowering bush by the dead tree have also been interpreted as possible vanitas motifs, reminding the spectator of the fragility of human life. The confined composition and tight execution of trees and foliage suggest a date in the 1650s. Something of the picture’s emotional appeal to a nineteenth-century audience is conveyed by its description in the sale catalogue of the Brussels banker Daniel Danoot in 1828: ‘one marvels at the gravity of its effects; everything here is virile, severe and powerful’.