Silhouetted by a yellow, string-decorated background, the husband and wife stand on a floor inscribed with circles. The husband is depicted with a long, forked beard and he holds his rifle in his right hand, resting the butt on the floor. He wears black doublet and feathered hat over poofy trousers. The woman holds out the cup with the welcome drink to him in her right hand. She wears a cap and a narrow white ruff over a gold and black bodice with raised sleeves. Her long red skirt with a green stripe at the hem is covered in the front by a richly patterned white apron. Her purse with keys and cutlery, the sign of her management of the household, hangs from her waist over the apron. A bell appears in the background between the couple. The are framed by two differently colored pilasters supporting a red lintel with a central boss, In the upper register, blue pilasters frame a scene of transport on a lake or river. A man paddles a boat carrying five sacks and three barrels and what appears to be a male and female passenger. At the bottom of the panel, the husband’s coat of arms is between his feet and the inscription follows to the right.

Above the couple, a scene of a boat with three men, carrying barrels and sacks, identifies the trade of the family. Hertach lists himself as a supervisor for the transport of goods of the area, most efficiently via waterway. Many small rivers were adjacent to Niederwasser, a municipality in southern Germany about 60 kilometers north of the Swiss border and 45 kilometers north east of Freiburg im Breisgau.

Paul Boesch has researched the family Weiss from Weesen. His work established that there were at least two generations of painters called Weiss, the father Hans, and two sons, Hans the younger and Balthasar. The windows by Balthasar show a similar palette, iconographic models and compositions. Compare the welcome panel with the arms of Hans Gerig and Barbara Hofstetter dated 1599 in the Victoria and Albert Museum (VAM_86). A large expanse of silver-stain yellows as backdrop or as narrative enhancement is used in both panels. The stance of the woman is almost identical, as is the shape of the cup and the swag and tassel hanging from the lintel. In the London panel the purse hangs over her dress, not her apron, as was the original intention in the Baltimore example. The man’s position in relation to shield and inscription is also identical.

Cited
Hayward, Kummer-Rothenhäusler, & Raguin, 1987, p. 66.
Hayward, Kummer-Rothenhäusler, & Raguin, 1989, p. 311