Wenceslaus Hollar's view of the Isle of Wight from the English mainland was made during the English Civil War, when King Charles I had fled to the island, hoping to receive the sympathy of its governor, who instead imprisoned him in Carisbrooke Castle. The view shows two men on horseback on the top of a hill in the foreground, looking out at the Isle of Wight across the Solent. The city of Portsmouth is shown in the mid-distance, with a few towers among its buildings and many boats traversing its waterways.