From a family of well known painters, Charles Parrocel joined a french cavalry regiment at the age of seventeen, before espousing the trade of his father Joseph, also known as Joseph Bataille Parrocel (1646-1704). After leaving the military service and sending a noteworthy painting to Paris, the young man stayed as a member at the French Academy in Rome. Back in Paris, Parrocel was nominated at the royal Academy of painting and sculpting and was commissioned many equestrian and military subjects. He completed several paintings and cartoons which were used as models for the Gobelin tapestry manufacture. Parrocel also accompanied Louis XV during his campains in the Austrian Netherlands from 1744 to 1745, where he witnessed the battle of Fontenoy. Though the medallions outlined on the lower part suggest a potential adaptation in etching, a technique in which Parrocel was notoriously assisted by artists such as Jean Audran or Jacques-Philippe Le Bas, the general composition evokes a drawing by his father Joseph, Louis XIV passant le Rhin à Tolhuis le 12 juin 1672.