His work focuses on the topography of the Vecht and Amstel rivers. He frequently depicted the trekschuit, a horse-drawn barge used for public transport in the seventeenth-century Netherlands. His compositions often feature a low horizon and a clear sense of space. He avoided dramatic artifice, preferring to record the architecture of country houses and the functional details of river life. His winter scenes are observant, documenting the seasonal use of canals by skaters and sledges.

Collectors value Rutgers for his restrained and honest depiction of the Dutch Golden Age. His prints provide a visual record of specific regions without allegorical symbols. The clarity of his lines and his focus on the intersection of nature and infrastructure suit contemporary interiors. These pieces are rendered with the steady hand of a man who understood the practicalities of the Dutch economy.