The original composition was enlarged on the right side with a section of wood of around 10.5 cm, glued against the grain. During the restoration carried out in 1994 it was noted that the preparation and execution of this section differed from the rest of the composition, indicating that it was added later. Isabella Farnese`s seal, printed on the back, can be found on the original panel but not in the centre, in the customary manner, but on its outside edge. This suggests that after it entered the royal collections, the original panel must have been cut to eliminate a damaged or spoilt section. The right panel was then added, all four sides on the back of the support were reduced, and the painting was redone in that area, possibly copied from the damaged original.

The composition is closed in on the left by a mound set diagonally towards the background, with the figure of the huntsman silhouetted against it. On the right-hand side, the picture opens out onto the landscape. The spatial structure is formed from carefully defined alternating planes of dark and light, to contrived effect. The colour is applied with short, swift, impasto brushstrokes. The stylistic and compositional features, the large figures in the foreground and, above all, the southern atmosphere, suggest the picture was painted around 1650-53, that is, during the years when the painter started to draw inspiration from the Italianate landscape painters. The group of figures in the foreground, close to the viewer, and the rural setting are still inspired by Pieter van Laer (1599-after 1642). However, the characters here are more refined, their anatomy more precise, and the palette of earthy shades and grey-browns of Van Laer is here spiced up with strokes of red and green. The silverblue of the sky and the background and the pictorial effect of the tree are a foretaste of the painter`s later landscapes. This view can be related to similar scenes, also on panel, such as Rider Conversing with a Woman in a Red Dress, in the former collection of Count Schönborn, Pommersfelden, A Horseman giving Alms (Oldenburg, Landesmuseum, inv. 180), which Schumacher dates at around 1649, or even Country Road with Figures (private collection), signed p. w. which Duparc and Buvelot date to around 1650-53 (Posada Kubissa, T.: Pintura holandesa en el Museo Nacional del Prado. Catálogo razonado, 2009, p. 320).