Louis XIV Crossing into the Netherlands at Lobith

The Dutch still call 1672 the Disaster Year. On 12 June a French army the museum puts at 120,000 men reached the Rhine at the toll house near Lobith, where the river enters the Republic, and crossed it. Van der Meulen, Louis XIV's battle painter, shows the moment as a royal triumph. Cannon on the near bank fire at the Dutch troops opposite, and the army wades through the water in a dense mass. In the foreground Louis sits on a grey horse among his officers, pointing the way with his baton. The museum notes that the painter took a liberty here. When the troops crossed, the king was staying at a monastery some distance away. That same summer brought the young William III of Orange to power as stadtholder, and the canvas now hangs in the room devoted to him.