Not a historian, but those aren't wheels, they are paddles. Think like the back of a paddle boat, only on the side. There would have been people inside turning them to propel through the water

This is a very similar example.

Edit: Here is a wiki with the same exact picture as your post, saying this particular one would be powered by the oxen on board.

For some added context, the original source is The Toast, and this is part of a series.

For anyone interested in similar engineering oddities, Ross King's Brunelleschi's Dome has a chapter ("The Monster of the Arno") on a giant river barge designed by Brunelleschi, and other unique boat designs, including one by Francesco di Giorgio that has paddle wheels like the above image.