Antwerp-born Egide Charles Gustave, Baron Wappers, was principally a painter of historical and genre subjects. Having trained under Willem Jacob Herreyns (1743-1827) and Mattheus Ignatius van Bree (1773-1839) at Antwerp Academy, Wappers studied the works of the Dutch masters in Holland and that of the Italians in Paris. A representative of romanticism, Wappers was made Principal Painter to King Leopold I in 1845 and received the Legion d'Honneur in 1842.

In September 1843, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert visited Antwerp to see their uncle Leopold I, King of the Belgians, at Ostend. Having arrived in the city they watched the spectacle of Ommeganck from the Place de Mer. This procession of the giant commemorates the legend of the Low Countries' release from the domination of a giant called Druon Antigoon who guarded the crossing of the Scheldt. The pageant was performed on special occasions - in this case the visit of the English Royal couple.
 
In Wappers's painting, whose title means 'Recollection of Antwerp', the pageant is seen from the point of view of typical citizens, dressed up specially for the occasion. Three young women are seated at a stone window, observing the procession underway in the street below. A mannequin of a giant is seen being transported by the crowd. In the distance, the one completed spire of Antwerp Cathedral rises above the skyline.