During the Peninsular War, Domingos Sequeira established friendships with officers of the Napoleonic army, such as the Count of Forbin, an officer and amateur painter. This approach earned him a commission for an allegorical representation of General Junot’s protective action over Lisbon. Thanks to this activity, Sequeira was seen as a collaborator with the occupying enemy and was therefore subjected to persecution and conviction, from which he was only rehabilitated at great cost.
This composition has three groups of figures in the foreground, including Junot, in military dress, facing a young woman who represents the city of Lisbon, supported by Religion and the Genius of the Nation. On the left, the two men represent Mars annihilating Neptune, symbolising France and England respectively, while on the opposite side, the two women symbolise abundance and wisdom, Ceres and Minerva.