A romantic evocation of a Mediterranean port scene which alludes to Leghorn (Livorno), Italy. Two large ships are anchored at the quay of an Italianate harbour. The left ship with its slender, gallant stern-castle and flapping pennants is typical of van Minderhout’s style. Her ornately carved stern bears a roundel of Neptune with his trident and four prancing hippocampi (sea-horses) which traditionally draw his chariot as god of the sea. The ship in question is apparently a Spanish or Italian warship. In the distance, an arriving ship fires a salute to a fortress at the entrance to the harbour. To the left a small craft is piled with barrels and stores. A man in red sits in silhouette on its lowered yard and a figure sits behind. Another boat, on the far left, bears a figure leaning against the mast. Goods are being loaded on the waterside and carried away by camel or donkey. On the quay, in the foreground, some trade is being carried out and a party including a handsome lady on a white horse, with two pack-mules, a camel and servants is about to leave. The white horse, on which the lady sits, resembles the graceful mount in ‘The Crucifixion’ of 1661 by the Amsterdam artist Karel du Jardin. Van Minderhout copied the donkey, in this group of figures, from an etching of 1652 by du Jardin. Near the large, classical archway two Europeans use intense gestures in their negotiation with a man wearing eastern dress. A hunting dog, sniffing at another in the centre, and a privy high on the curtain wall, upper right, add a touch of earthy realism. In front of the main ships the artist has positioned the statue of the Grand Duke Ferdinand I of Tuscany by Baccio Bandinelli (1493-1560). The statue shows the Grand Duke with four chained Turkish-slave supporters. These four bronze figures of slaves, known as the ‘Quattro Mori’, are a later addition to the statue and were completed by Pietro Tacca (1557-1640). This monument is a notable feature of the Livorno waterfront today.

The idealized composition pays compliment to Tuscany as a maritime power and to Livorno as an international crossroads between the Muslim and Eastern world (symbolized by the camel and non-European figures) and Europe (symbolized by the white horse and its aristocratic female rider). Leghorn was the principal port of the Dukedom of Tuscany in the seventeenth century. The Grand Duke of Tuscany, Ferdinand I de’ Medici, made Leghorn a free port, where Jewish merchants could ply their trade with relative ease and under his protection. Dutch merchants, also, visited Leghorn regularly. The harbour was frequented by grain ships from Hoorn and Amsterdam which led to the so-called Straatvaart (Dutch Mediterranean trade). Moreover the harbour of Leghorn was an important destination for Dutchmen embarking on a Grand Tour, usually taking them south by sea from Genoa. On climbing the limestone stairs of the quay, they stood face to face with a great monument of Ferdinand I. During the seventeenth century the monument became a symbol for Leghorn. Dutch artists Johannes Lingelbach and Abraham Storck, also, depicted the sculpture in a few of their paintings. Just like van Minderhout, they based their depictions on prints by Stefano della Bella from the years 1654–5.

Minderhout, who almost certainly visited Italy, was an Antwerp artist and the last great Flemish painter of marine subjects. His ships are often exaggerated in form and in the height of their masts. He was less interested in accuracy than with creating a romantic impression. Between 1652 and 1695 van Minderhout painted a number of cityscapes with promenades, Italianate harbours and a few sea battles. Two depictions of sea battles by Minderhout are in the National Maritime Museum collection: 'The Battle of Lowestoft, 3 June 1665' and 'A Battle between the Dutch and Barbary Pirates near the Coast'. This current painting is signed and dated 'H. Minderhout 1670'.