In spite of these prestigious positions, however, de Heusch unfortunately had been reduced to poverty by the time of his death and was buried at the expense of the town council. Our painting fully exemplifies technique and motifs characteristic of Jan Both and the Dutch Italianate school. De Heusch paints a rural scene of a traveling peasant family being slowly pulled in a cart by a pair of oxen. A small flock of sheep and a goat plod along the dirt next to the cart, chased from behind by a young boy. Ahead lies a small pond, where the family dog has already taken some refreshment.
Landscape envelops the peasant family, spreading out beyond the horizon.
The figures are dwarfed by the panoramic vista as the viewer's eye scans the trees silhouetted against the pink sky and the mountain tops in the distance. The prominence of the landscape, the soft light that permeates the picture and the overall quiet, subdued mood of the picture are all typical of de Heusch's Dutch Italianate style. Our panel's remarkably preserved state serves to heighten the painting's striking presentation.