Barriére de la Villette was a customs house near Paris. This neoclassic building was built between 1784 and 1789. The well-known architect was Claude-Nicolas Ledoux.

Eckersberg has placed a mother and child in the foreground to soften the very stringent building. The group can also be seen in “Parti ved den romerske vandledning i Arcueil” (View of the Roman aqueduct at Arceuil), dated June 29th 1811. That one reproduced in the exhibition catalogue: “Tegninger af C. W. Eckersberg”, Den kongelige Kobberstiksamling, 1963 as no. 43.