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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
Representación del sitio de Breda, que tuvo lugar entre el 12 de septiembre de 1624 y el 2 de junio de 1625. En primer plano aparece la visita de la infanta gobernadora al campo de batalla tras la victoria, junto a otros personajes entre los que se encuentra Ambrosio de Spinola.El primer dato documental de esta obra lo da el inventario del Alcázar de 1636: ".... el sitio de Breda, con moldura dora
The text at the bottom of the painting identifies the city as Lille, for which reason the painting may depict an attack of 1641. The soldiers in the foreground wear the blue of the French army while those on the outskirts of the city and on its walls are Spanish, bearing red standards. The depiction of a battle scene at night is very unusual.
Snayers specialised in panoramic views of military actions. Here he offers a topographical presentation of the siege of Gravelines (France) by the Spanish troops in 1652. On the right Snayers shows the rain falling on the area and also includes a map which functions to emphasise the illusion of depth in the scene.
As court painter to the Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand, Snayers’s compositions both document and glorify Spanish military activities. This painting represents the capture of Aire-sur-la-Lys from the French troops by the Cardinal-Infante’s army in 1641. The topographical landscape in the background and the genre episodes in the foreground are influenced by Jacques Callot’s etching The Siege of Breda.
