The copperplate was not in any of the early sales or collections and is almost certainly not anymore in existence.

It is generally assumed that Rembrandt, when making this picture, was sitting at the Kadijk, a small dyke, running north-east of the Sint Antonispoort, (nowadays called De Waag.) The view shows, in reverse, from left to right: the Haringpakkerstoren, the Oude Kerk (Old Church), the Montelbaanstoren, the (gabled) warehouses of the East Indian Companies, the windmill at the Rijzenhoofd and the windmills located on the bulwarks (bolwerken), near the Blauwbrug. Some authors recognize the Zuiderkerk in the square tower right of the Rijzenhoofd, but Hinterding pointed at the fact that this tower was much further back and has a spire. The new warehouse of the West Indische Compagnie, built in 1642, and the Waleneiland, constructed in 1644, are not (yet) present. This supports a date around the year 1641.

This etching is probably the first landscape Rembrandt made. Earlier landscapes, as those by Goltzius, were made from a high virtual point with the horizon in the middle. Later artists, like van Goyen, Ruysdael and Seghers, painted the horizon much lower, with sometimes 2/3 of the picture showing air. In this etching Rembrandt works from a lower point, moving the horizon up again. The foreground then becomes more important. Note the fisherman at left and the two groups of people, including a child pointing over the water. On the left we see a pile of thatch, which was harvested in that area. There are several ships visible at the shipyard bordering the harbour, called het IJ.
Although there is no proof that Rembrandt or any other artists made etchings in the open air, it has been suggested that, in this case, Rembrandt did work directly ‘in the field’ and then completed the plate, especially the foreground, in his workshop. However, there is no drawing known of the same subject, supporting this view.

Royalton-Kisch has suggested that this plate is part of a triptych. With B 225 and B 226 it would form a complete panorama of Amsterdam.

There are five copies in the same direction. Copy A is by James Bretherton (116 x 157 mm, WB 1). Copy B is by William Young Ottley, included in his publication of 1828 (118 x 157 mm, WB 4). Copy C is by Lucy Brightwell (ca. 1835, 110 x 151 mm, WB 2). Copy D is by Louis Gervais Marvy, inscribed Louis Marvy d’apres Rembrandt (138 x 176 mm). Copy E is by John Burnet, signed (two states, 108 x 154 mm, WB 3). Copies A and C are quite deceptive

The etching is considered as special by Middleton, Coppier, de Claussin and Wilson.

Most authors list one state only. Hind, Münz, ao have suggested a 1st state in which a hare is visible in the foreground (now at the Yale University Art Gallery in New Haven). It is almost certainly a falsification. Early impressions show a rainy sky with sulphur tone and vertical scratches, especially on the right side (NU and NH). In later prints the sulphur and scratches have disappeared.

There is a counterproof in the Rijksmuseum.

Basilisk (c. 1640-47); Strasbourg lily with initials LC (c. 1641); Foolscap with five-pointed collar with cm PDB’ (c. 1648); Foolscap with five-pointed collar with cm LB (c. 1650); Paschal lamb with cm RC (1651); Arms of Amsterdam with cm IFD’; Countermark LL’;

H 176, BB 40-4, G 202, M 304, Mz 150, RA 576, Cl 207, W 207, Bl 313, Du 207, CD 133, S 91.
Victoria Charles, p. 65; F.Lugt Met Rembrandt in Amsterdam, 1920 p. 132ff; Fuchs 1968, p. 61; Wandelingen 1998, p. 209-212; Rohde 2005, p. 149; Hinterding 2006, p. 107-108; Hinterding 2008, p. 383-386;

NHD/WB: Only state.
Very good, light impression with strong dark accents in the foreground.
Sheet 126/127 x 170/169 mm, very broad margins of ca. 7 mm all around (= 26%).
Watermark: Foolscap with five-pointed collar (Ash-Fletcher p. 107, nr. 19 K.a.) traversed, to be dated ca. 1650 (Hinterding 2006, page 41-42). Horizontal chain lines at 24 mm.

In the collection of Paul Davidsohn (Dantzig 1839- c. 1924 Grünewald-Berlin, Lugt 654);
At his sale with C.G.Boerner, Leipzig, April 1921 (lot 176), illustration on plate 12;
Sold to Nebenay (Vienna, not in Lugt) for Reichsmark 41.000;
In a private collection in the USA;

The Rotunda at Exchange Square, Hong Kong, January 2008
Rembrandt in Zwart-Wit, Westfries Museum (Hoorn), Het Markiezenhof (Bergen op Zoom), Stedelijk Museum Zutphen, Het Hannemahuis (Harlingen), Museum Gouda, Jan ten Horne Museum (Weert), Stadsmuseum Harderwijk, March 2013 August 2015; Stedelijk Museum Vianen, September – December 2017; Stedelijk Museum Vianen, October 2017 – January 2018;
Rembrandt in Black & White, Schloß Britz (Berlin), Bozar Expo (Brussels), Chateau des Penthes (Geneva), November 2015 – October 2016;
Rembrandt, fotograaf avant-la-lettre, Museum De Reede (Antwerp), January – May 2023;
Rembrandt, 17th century photographer, Daegu Art Museum (Korea), November 2023 – March 2024;
Rembrandt, de fotograaf, Westfries Museum (Hoorn), June 2024 – January 2025;