[1] This canvas is a history painting that illustrates the moment of the Grütli oath, where the delegates of the Swiss cantons of Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden swear to free themselves from the domination of the Habsburgs, on the Grütli or Rütli meadow, in 1307, creating the Old Swiss Confederacy.

The three men are represented with their hands in the center, one above the other, while they look towards the sky raising the other arm.

The three characters wear armor and the figure in the center is brandishing a sword.

[1] The figures are seen from below and appear elongated, while at the top in the center a supernatural light emerges from the clouds.

Fuseli did not outline precise contours for the figures, he used brushstrokes wide and left the background fairly vague.