Vine-Covered Harbour Crane Over the Old Town

A harbour crane takes up the left and centre of the picture, its round orange base planted with vegetable beds and coral, its green cabin a pillared hall with a domed market inside. The long blue jib is covered in vines, orange fruit and pink mushrooms, and a red chain drops from its tip to lift a tall ship out of the turquoise water. A lighthouse stands on the jib's end and another striped one rises on the quay. Around the crane the town crowds in: tiled roofs, a church, domes, canal bridges, windmills and market awnings. Steamboats, a junk, a sailing yacht, a raft and a rowing boat fill the harbour, and a sea serpent and a whale tail break the surface. The crane's blue jib cuts the picture in two, leaving sharp-edged sections for the pieces to find.