The king sat for this equestrian portrait at Kungsör in 1682, six years after the Battle of Lund, which he saw as a decisive event in his life. He is dressed as he was for the winter campaign in Skåne, in a coat lined with lynx fur for warmth, a cuirass, yellow elk-skin gauntlets and a hat with the distinguishing mark of the Swedes – a small sheaf of grain. The use of a simple field uniform in Swedish state portraits was introduced by Charles XI and continued under his son, Charles XII.