This back view of two hooded female (?) figures, the right-hand one having rested his arm on a bale, does not necessarily represent fisher folk. But as indicated by an inscription on the back of the mount, this drawing was attributed to Willem van de Velde, the Elder, in the early 18th century: 'Wm. Vanderveld Sen. No. 4'.

It is one of a group of drawings from the Milford Collection, which was formed about 1730. The study was presumably made about 1655 when van de Velde was particularly busy with grisailles, in which he introduced groups of people in the foreground. The unsigned drawing may show the influence of Simon de Vlieger’s work, whom van de Velde was on friendly terms with at the time.