Sketch of the back of the triumphal arch of Philip IV

The entry of Cardinal-Infant Ferdinand of Austria into Antwerp in 1635 was among the most elaborate public celebrations in the city's history, organised by the magistracy with decorative schemes designed by Rubens and executed by the leading painters and sculptors of Antwerp, including van Thulden. Triumphal arches — temporary painted and sculptural structures erected along the processional route — were the central spectacle, each arch carrying allegorical paintings and inscriptions celebrating the new governor. Van Thulden documented these arches in a series of paintings and prints that became the basis for the published commemorative volume Pompa Introitus Ferdinandi (1641/42). This panel sketch of the arch of Philip IV's back face is a working document from that extraordinary project. The Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp naturally holds several works from this major episode in the city's cultural history.

As a preparatory sketch for a monumental public work, this panel prioritises compositional clarity and spatial accuracy over finished surface quality. The architectural elements — columns, entablature, niches, painted scenes — are laid out with the clear-eyed precision of a working drawing, though executed in oil paint. The looseness of handling compared to Van Thulden's finished paintings is itself historically significant, showing his working method.