The plaza occupies the center of the image, surrounded by the fortifications and the camp. Amprosio Spínola appears in a carriage alongside a group of riders and footmen in the right foreground. On the left, a cartouche details the different positions in Italian, with indicative letters and numerals. We have detailed knowledge of this crucial moment in the War of Flanders, thanks to Hermann Hugo´s book, Obsidio Bredana (Antwerp, 1626), an engraved set of six large plates by Jacques Callot with indications by engineer Giovanni Francesco Cantagallina, who witness the siege; and Descripción de la Villa y sitio de Breda, which was published in Antwerp in 1628 with explanations of Callot´s engravings. Drawing on these sources and on other maps, Snayers painted three different versions of The Seige of Breda, all of which are at the Museo del Prado (P1743, without the protagonists; P1747, with the visit of Infanta Isabel Clara Eugenia, and P1748, with Spinola´s visit and a closer view of the operations).

This work was listed in the inventory of Madrid´s Alcázar Palace as part of the decoration of "the room where His Majesty does business in the Summer Quarters." There, it was accompanied by a view of the Seige of Ostend, and the images of these two emblematic victories by Spanish monarchs during the second half of the War of Flanders must have considerably influenced Philip IV in his office. According to the royal inventories, this canvas "was brought by the Marquis of Leganés". In 1686, it is listed in the first room of the Priory, and in 1797, at Viñuelas Castle (Text drawn from Díaz Padrón, M.: El Siglo de Rubens en el Museo del Prado, 1995).