The river landscape is dominated by a clarity and freshness. Beneath the high sky the plain extends wide and blue to the horizon. On a stage-like foreground a herd of cows grazes beside a lake; the scene is framed, as often with Hackert, by high, old trees. Only the small temple on the shore and a distant town allude to the presence of humans. Arcadia, the mythical place of a harmonious life in tune with nature, and the longed-for land of Italy converge here.