Dutch School, 17th Century

Probably depicting an Allegory of the Spanish occupation of Holland, this - originally longer - composition seems to derive from earlier prints, used for propaganda during the Eighty Years' War. As in De slapende leeuw (the sleeping lion), a print of 1567 in the Atlas Van Stolk in Museum Rotterdam, the lion here likely represents the Republic, whereas the dogs probably represent the Dutch nobility, loyal to the Spanish king.