Sketch of the front of the triumphal arch of the Cardinal-Infant Ferdinand

Van Thulden employed a meticulous, realistic approach, rendering architectural details and human figures with careful attention to texture and form. The composition is tightly organized, with depth suggested through layered perspective. Colors remain subdued—ochres, grays, and browns—emphasizing solemnity over spectacle, consistent with the formal tone of state ceremonies of the period.

The painting was likely commissioned to document the 1635 entry festivities in Antwerp, a major political event under Spanish Habsburg rule. It entered the collection of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp in the 19th century, where it remains today. Its survival reflects the value placed on visual documentation of public ceremonies in early modern Flanders.

Created during the Thirty Years’ War, the arch and its depiction served to project Habsburg power in a region under strain. Temporary triumphal structures were common in European cities to mark royal or noble visits, blending classical motifs with contemporary propaganda. Van Thulden’s work fits within a broader tradition of Flemish artists documenting civic rituals for political elites.

Though not widely exhibited, the painting contributes to the historical record of early 17th-century ceremonial culture in the Southern Netherlands. It exemplifies how artists like van Thulden functioned as chroniclers of political spectacle, preserving ephemeral architecture and public pageantry through durable painted records.