A standard bearer in an ornate ensemble stands defiantly with the Cross of St. Andrew, his left hand poised to unsheathe his sword. The symbol of St. Andrew’s cross, with diagonally crossed branches and double fire steels in the shape of the letter ‘B,’ was used by Emperor Maximilian I in his capacity as the Duke of Burgundy, suggesting that the man is a soldier fighting for Maximilian in a conflict between the Habsburgs and the Swiss. Maximilian would later appoint Dürer to be his court artist.
