A dramatic mass of rocky hillside rises at left, crowned by the imposing form of Bentheim Castle, its pale walls catching the sunlight against a sky filled with billowing clouds. The castle stands in the left middle distance, set high above the surrounding landscape, with its angular towers and walls rendered in warm, earthy tones. Below the castle, the hillside descends steeply, dotted with trees in various shades of green and brown, their foliage painted with delicate, textured brushwork.

In the foreground, a stream tumbles over rocks, creating a small waterfall; the water glistens as it flows around a fallen tree trunk that lies diagonally across the stream, its bark rough and splintered. Grasses and shrubs grow among the rocks at the water’s edge, their fine leaves and tangled forms adding detail to the shadowed foreground. The light falls unevenly across the scene, illuminating the castle and patches of hillside while casting deep shadows in the foreground and beneath the trees.

The sky occupies nearly half the composition, with patches of blue breaking through heavy, grey clouds that suggest a changeable weather. The brushwork varies from smooth, blended skies to more textured, broken strokes in the foliage and rocks, giving the landscape a sense of depth and atmosphere. In the lower left corner, a twisted, leafless branch juts upward, its wiry lines contrasting with the softer foliage nearby.

The far right edge of the painting is bordered by a large tree, its branches reaching upward and catching a subtle glint of light on their uppermost leaves. The background reveals a distant blue-green ridge fading into atmospheric haze, suggesting depth beyond the immediate landscape. The water in the foreground is painted with lively, swirling brushstrokes of white and grey, emphasizing the movement and turbulence as it splashes over rocks. Bentheim Castle was painted by Jacob van Ruisdael in the 1650s, during the Dutch Golden Age.