Allegory on the French Invasion of 1672

1672

In 1672 the Netherlands was invaded by the French. That disaster is allegorically rendered in the drawing at which the seated man looks: the Dutch lion is defeated, its weapons in pieces, the gate to its enclosure broken; above, the French rooster crows triumphantly. Symbolizing the other side is the standing man with an orange feather in his cap: he is a supporter of William III of Orange, who would avert the French threat.