James Holland (1799-1870) was probably taught to paint by his mother who was a painter of flowers on porcelain at James Davenport’s pottery works in Staffordshire. He moved to London in 1819, where he initially earned a living as a pottery painter at one of the Deptford works. His early work also included paintings of flowers, one of which was his first work, in 1824, to be exhibited at the Royal Academy. From that time on he became a regular exhibitor at the Royal Academy, the Society of British Artists and the Society of Painters in Water Colours. Throughout his career Holland travelled extensively and became a notable landscape artist of scenes from countries such as the Netherlands, Italy (especially Venice), Portugal and Egypt.

This oil painting on canvas was first exhibited by Holland at the British Institute in 1837 under the title ‘Nimeguen, on the Rhine’. Nijmegen (modern spelling) is known as the oldest city in the Netherlands and was the Imperial residence of the Emperor Charlemagne in the eighth century. It is approximately 60 miles east of Rotterdam and is located on the River Waal, a branch of the River Rhine. It is likely that this painting is the view from the quay at Nijmegen looking northwards across the river towards Arnhem.

The painting is one of around 500 oil paintings, watercolours and drawings given to the V&A by the art collector John Sheepshanks in 1857.