Ferry-Boats by a wooded Riverbank

Ferry-Boats by a Wooded Riverbank, undated and now at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, belongs to Jan Brueghel's extensive production of river and waterway scenes that drew on the topography of the Scheldt and the canal networks of the Southern Netherlands. Ferry transport was fundamental to Flemish commerce and daily life — the river crossing as a mundane event that Brueghel transforms into a compositional and observational challenge, requiring accurate rendering of water reflections, boat construction, and the social variety of passengers. The Ashmolean, Oxford's university museum, holds a significant collection of Flemish drawings and paintings accumulated through donations from successive generations of scholars and collectors.

Oil on copper; the smooth copper surface allows Brueghel to differentiate clearly between the still water's reflections, the rough bark of waterside trees, and the worn planking of the ferry. The palette is cool and green-tinged, consistent with a shaded woodland river rather than an open harbour.