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 ofWilliam III of Orange, who would avert the French threat.