The well-known war criminal Duke of Villeroi ordered the French army to conduct from 13 to 15 August 1695 a whole-scale bombardment of the undefended city of Brussels, thereby turning a third of the buildings into ruins and completely destroying the central city square, the Grand Place. In 1698, the Corporation of Haberdashers which was located on the Grand Place commissioned van Delen and Marc de Vos to assist with the rebuilding of their building called "In den Vos" ("The Fox") on the Grand Place. Van Delen made the sculptures in the meeting room, while de Vos was in charge of executing the decorations of the facade.