Like other Romantic painters such as Caspar David Friedrich, Koekkoek painted the motif of tiny figures within imposing, majestic natural environments to contrast humble humanity with the greatness of creation.

With that in mind, in the summer of 1834 he moved to the old Ducal capital of Cleves, Germany, where he found his ideal subject matter in the region of the Ahr, Ruhr and Rhine.

Soon large oak trees, winding paths and panoramic views filled his paintings with an artful blend of minute detail and atmospheric mood.

In Cleves, where he would spend the rest of his life, Koekkoek painted his most important landscapes, ranging from extensive river valleys to idyllic forest views dominated by one or more oaks.

The golden light and the inclusion of travellers in his work suggests Koekkoek also admired the Dutch Italianate painters of the seventeenth century, collectively known as the Bamboccianti, especially Pieter van Laer and Jan Both.

‘Koekkoek's work impresses the spectator by its power, by the firm and correct construction of the trees, by the broad, natural growth of the leaves and boughs, [and] by the careful and elaborate reproduction of the wooded landscape’ (G. H. Marius, Dutch Painters of the Nineteenth Century, Woodbridge, 1973, p. 89).

Just as he was during his own lifetime, Koekkoek is widely regarded as the most accomplished landscape painter of Dutch romanticism, against whose scrupulously refined paintings the work his contemporaries is measured.

Koekkoek's financial success allowed him to purchase a plot of land in downtown Cleves in 1842 and build a grand villa in italianate style over the next seven years.

In 1902 the German doctor Hans van Ackeren purchased and expanded the property, added an extension to the house and remodeled its interior in Art Nouveau style.

Fortunately the house remained essentially undamaged in WW II; it was subsequently used as city-hall for several years during which time it hosted art annual exhibits by the Kleve Artist's Association.