The work was painted by Jan Baptist Bonnecroy, a Flemish painter from Antwerp, circa 1664–65.

[2] Around 1960, the painting was sold by Engelbert-Charles d'Arenberg to a New York art dealer, who sent it to the United States.

[2][3] In 1990, the King Baudouin Foundation's Heritage Fund was able to purchase the painting and return it to Belgium.

The work has been entrusted, on long-term loan, to the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels.

He accentuated various buildings in the city, taking inspiration from local land surveys and printed maps.