A scene in the Arctic showing a bear hunt. On the left is a Dutch whaling flute with a spar over the stern for moving her through the ice. It is also shown with a line to anchor it to the ice. Behind, a high wall of ice, possibly a berg rises up. To the right is an ice floe with a circle of hunters on it surrounding a polar bear. Beyond is another similar whaling vessel. In the foreground on the right is another ice floe with a bear attacking a man, who is lying prostrate on the ice. The incident is watched by two small boatloads of sailors. The scene is dominated by grey tones against which is contrasted the whiteness of the ice.

The earliest trades in North America were whaling and harvesting skins and furs. Settlers there had been hunting bears since the middle of the 17th century, as Native Americans had done before them. They sought the rich furs that were the most important article of trade since fur-bearing animals abounded in the entire region of the Hudson and Mohawk rivers. The Dutch established small settlements such as New Amsterdam - later New York - at the mouth of the Mauritius, now Hudson River, for the purpose of trading with the native tribes.

The artist was born in Leeuwarden and was a doctor of law as well as a painter and a poet. He was a member of the guild of St Luke in Alkmaar from 1696 and mainly derived his living as a marine painter. The painting is signed and dated on the ice floe on the left 'W.Vitringa 1696'.