Focus on The Valkhof at Nijmegen and explore the Historical information.
The town of Nijmegen was popular with artists during this time period. The city's Medieval history, with the Valkhof having strong patriotic ties. It was the stronghold of Gaius Julius Civilis, an ancient hero who led the Batavians to revolt against the Romans during the 1st-century.  During this time, it also paralleled the Dutch's rebellion against Spain and the Habsburg Empire.
The scene is based on sketches that Cuyp took during this travels to Nijmegen in 1652, however, Cuyp transformed the landscape by using a warm glow, calling to mind Italian landscapes. He adopted this style, and it became his signature on his paintings. Later on, Cuyp's work has a profound impact on 19th-century landscape painters, including J. M. W. Turner.Because of the way that Cuyp painted his subjects bathed in light, it is hypothesized that he worked in Utrecht, which took many of its artistic cues from Baroque Italy. Cuyp dated very few of his paintings, so the date range on this image is an estimate.
Habsburg Empire Utrecht Nijmegen Baroque Italy Italian Spain Medieval Gaius Julius Civilis J. M. W. Turner