The Amsterdam born Jan Karel Donatus van Beecq was highly esteemed for his maritime pictures in the style of Willem van de Velde the Younger. He may have trained as a marine painter in his native city, but spent the larger part of his career abroad. In 1977 he is recorded in London sharing a house with the Dutch painter Adriaen van Diest in Durham Yard. Here Van Beecq, possibly at the invitation of by Charles II, likley worked in the studio of Van de Velde in Greenwich.

From 1680 onwards Van Beecq moved to Paris, working under the patronage of Philippe, Duc de Vendôme. He enrolled in the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture and continued to paint in the celebrated style of Van de Velde. The artist remained in France until circa 1714, when he retired to Amsterdam. No eighteenth century paintings by the artist are known.

This imposing view of the IJ is hitherto unrecorded and its representation of his native town of Amsterdam is a significant addition to the oeuvre of Van Beecq. It possibly suggests that he not only painted for French royalty, but may also have served a Dutch clientele or a commissioner requesting a souvenir.