The scene represented here most likely relates to one of the first voyages in a hot-air balloon designed by Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier. The brothers, who were originally from southern France, travelled to Versailles in 1783 from where they set off in their untethered balloon several times. The first manned flight took place in a Montgolfier balloon with Pilatre de Rozier and François Laurent, marquis d'Arlandes, as passengers.