On the frozen Amstel people are skating, sledges are being pushed along, and horse-drawn sleighs travel across the ice. On both sides, refreshments are available at koek-en-zopie stalls.
On the left bank lies the village of Uithoorn, stretching in a linear settlement along the Amstel. On the right, on the eastern side of the Amstel bridge, stands a tollhouse. At the bridge and the tollhouse, traffic and transport were supervised, even during severe winters when the frozen river served as a thoroughfare.
Hermanus Petrus Schouten (1747–1822) was an Amsterdam printmaker, watercolourist, etcher, painter, and topographical draughtsman. His finest work dates from the period 1785–1790, when his village and city views acquired notable solidity and precision.
