Isaak Ouwater is one of the last representatives of a pictorial tradition that reached its zenith during what is known as the Dutch 'Golden Age'. He worked in the tradition of the topographical town portrait, which originated in the northern Netherlands in the late 17th century, and he was greatly inspired by the work of Jan van der Heyden.

Although he lived in Amsterdam for the greater part of his life, Ouwater traveled all over the country, making sketches that he used as a basis for his oil paintings. His itinerary can be traced from his dated works. In 1782 he stayed in Haarlem, where his paintings included the Grote Markt (Haarlem, Frans Halsmuseum); that same year he painted the ...