As Belgium reveled in its newfound independence, won in 1830, painters such as Louis Gallait recalled historical events that characterized the long struggle for self rule, including the martyrdom of Counts Egmont and Hoorne. These sixteenth-century Flemish noblemen dutifully served their king, Philip II of Spain, as soldiers and diplomats. Though devout Catholics, Egmont and Hoorne urged Philip to recognize the religious freedoms of Protestants, a position that branded the two as rebels and led to their arrest and beheading. Their murders galvanized resistance to Spanish rule in the Low Countries, present-day Belgium and the Netherlands.

(From Brooklyn Museum site).