Gonzales Franciscus Casteels

He was likely a member of the artist family Casteels which produced a large number of battle painters in the second half of the 17th century.

[4] The couple had two sons called Franciscus en Carolus who likely also became painters as their uncle Dominicus Smout left them all his drawings, sketches and prints in his will made in 1742.

The picture is one of many painted by artists all over Europe to glorify the person and heroic exploits of king Jan III Sobieski of Poland who was the commander in chief during the relief of Vienna and the victory over the Turks.

Casteels depicts different phases of the fight between the anti-Turkish coalition forces and the Ottoman army led by Kara Mustafa Pasha on several planes against the backdrop of a hilly landscape.

In the crowd of fighters, the figure of Jan III himself is prominent wearing a long silver-gray robe and a purple coat lined with ermine.

The painting which is signed and dated 1686 depicts the battle against Turkish forces for the relief of Esztergom (called 'Gran' in German), now in Hungary, which took place in August 1685.