The composition relates to an engraving by Danckerts after Berchem, and to a landscape, dated 1665, by Berchem’s pupil Abraham Begeyn. A late work, The Ferry Boat is somewhat uneven in its execution, with weaknesses evident in the treatment of the ferryman’s forearms and the hands of the man standing next to the horse. Nevertheless, the picture glows with an attractive golden tonality reminiscent of the Italian landscapes of Claude (q.v.), a quality which made Berchem’s works highly prized by eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century collectors. 'The Ferry Boat' was bought for the 3rd Marquess of Hertford by the great French dealer Le Brun at the Paris sale of Monsieur Dutartre, former Treasurer of the King’s Buildings, in 1804. The annotated copy of the sale catalogue in The Wallace Collection Library is marked with the comment: ‘Yarmouth Le Brun 3650/ perfect’.