The painting shows in the background the town of Dordrecht (Dort) from the south-east. The skyline is dominated by the Grote Kerk with the Vuilpoort, one of the town's water gates (demolished in 1864), beyond the windmill to the left. A similar view appears in another National Gallery painting by Cuyp, known as ' The Small Dort'. The church & the water gate are seen from another angle in ' The Maas at Dordrecht in a Storm' by Cuyp, also in the National Gallery's Collection. This landscape is a mature work, probably of the late 1650s, demonstrated by the exceptional quality of the monumental representation of the cows, three at rest, & one standing placidly observing the milkmaid at work.