This work is one of four pastoral Italian landscapes of similar size, treatment and date which perhaps formed a set of four, or at least two pairs. In the distance at the left is a town with sun-lit mountains behind. At the right are trees and a large rustic hut. In the foreground activity is centred around a stream or river; two women wash clothes and cattle are herded down to drink.

Marco Ricci was the nephew and probably the pupil of Sebastiano Ricci. From an early age he concentrated on landscape, and he also developed a specialism in theatrical scenery design. Marco often collaborated with his uncle, painting the architectural or landscape backgrounds for Sebastiano's large canvases, or enlisting Sebastiano to paint the figures in his own small landscapes. The major portion of this work is clearly Marco Ricci's, however some of the larger and more important figures may have been put in by Sebastiano. The painting was cleaned in 1975-6.

A related drawing by Ricci, RCIN 991142, features changes in the details of the poses of the figures and in those of the distant town.