The scene is closed in to the left by part of the inn and a tree, whereas the right-hand side opens out onto a vast panoramic view with a low horizon that occupies the entire background. The composition is structured into parallel planes, but unified by the atmospheric perspective to form a continuous whole. The main scene takes place in the foreground, although the figures are set at a distance from the viewer. Moreover, isolated people, animals and buildings dot the landscape, making it more vivid and adding greater unity to the whole.

The figures are arranged in a careful composition designed to direct the viewer`s gaze from the woman beside the inn, repairing the wheel of a cart, to the horse drinking water from the river, and from there, out into the distance. The stark contrasts of the artist`s previous stylistic phase have been replaced with a more homogenous illumination. The colour, applied with smooth, uniform brushstrokes on a reddish preparatory ground, is bright and transparent. The horizontal format, elegant figures and subtle gradation of blue and pink in the background make this scene a typical example of Wouwerman`s mature style, definitely distanced from the cruder naturalism of Pieter van Laer (1599-after 1642) and his followers. The theme of the hunting party stopping at an inn was one of the artist`s favourite subjects throughout the 1650s and 1660s. Schumacher (2006) dates this picture to around 1660-62. However, both the treatment and size of the figures are reminiscent of similar scenes from the previous decade, such as The Halt of a Hawking Party outside an Inn (London, Royal Collection, inv. 242), the compositional arrangement of which, although inverted, is repeated here. This was one of the pictures chosen for reproduction in the Colección litográfica de los cuadros del rey de España (Lithographic collection of the King of Spain) (Posada Kubissa, T.: Pintura holandesa en el Museo Nacional del Prado. Catálogo razonado, 2009, p. 320).