The actual subjects of these scenes included the fall of Troy, Aeneas and Juno in the underworld and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Hieronymus Bosch was the first northern artist to paint such fire scenes and later painters in the Brueghel dynasty developed the subject matter further.

[6] This mixing up of myth and contemporary events was possibly a result of the experiences of the artist who lived in a time when war and destruction of cities by armies was not uncommon.

The church represented in the centre bears a resemblance to Antwerp Cathedral but the city architecture further includes Trajan's Column of Rome.

In his scenes of Troy the artist also presented an anachronistic vision of the city by combining Antique ruins with contemporary buildings.

This is demonstrated in the Burning of Troy (at Christie's New York on 26 January 2005, lot 214) in which classical structures are found next to church spires and basilicas in the background and more humble typically Flemish houses in the foreground.

The intense human tragedy of the scene is expressed through the menacing sky which takes up a large portion of the canvas in vertical format which was unusual for the artist.

[10] Daniel van Heil collaborated with his brother Jan Baptist on the Infante Isabella in the gardens of the Coudenberg Palace (c. 1630, Museum of the City of Brussels).