Gillis de Hondecoeter was born in Antwerp and was among the earliest Dutch landscape painters. He fled to Holland in 1585, married in Delft in 1602 and moved with his family to Amsterdam in 1610. He specialized in wooded landscapes with overgrown old tree trunks populated by animals of all kinds.

His works are influenced by Roelant Savery, who had also moved to Amsterdam and may have been de Hondecoeter's teacher. However, in the present work from 1620, the artist appears to have distanced himself from the cramped compositions of Savery. The piece is characterized by its panoramic effect, sparing use of color, almost monochrome palette and fine brushwork - all tendencies not necessarily shared by the elder...