Object Image
Bonington, like many of his contemporaries, was attracted to history painting because it was more prestigious than landscapes or domestic scenes. His career was too short for his talents to be fully developed, but he completed and exhibited several major history pictures. This work, shown at the Royal Academy shortly before his death, shows Henri III, King of France (1551-89), a notoriously indolent and effeminate monarch, receiving Don John of Austria, the illegitimate son of the Emperor Charles V. The louche king and his minions are contrasted with the manly vigour of Don John. The subject was original, rather than (as with 'Henri IV and the Spanish Ambassador', P351) a recasting of an earlie...
1828
Oil on canvas
54.0 x 64.4cm
P323
Images and text © Wallace Collection, 2017

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The Wallace Collection
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