Charlemagne

This is a fresco painting from the town hall in Aachen. It shows Charlemagne in the battle of Cordova in 778. It’s by the German Romantic history painter Alfred Rethel (1816-1859) and dated from 1849/50.

It should be said that Charlemagne not even came near to Cordova or gained any battle in Spain. But these facts didn’t matter. The artist and his employers wanted to show the great defender of Christian Western civilization.

The whole image is a pure construction from the dramatic triangular composition to the imperial crown with which Charlemagne went to battle.

Celtic Patriots

The old Celts became very popular in France at the end of the century. This painting by the French artist George Moreau (1848-1901) is called "Le Sacrifice à la Patrie" (1879).

The painting pretends to show Celtic warriors going to fight for their country. But the poses are borrowed from the volunteers of the war in 1870. The super patriotic woman is owed to the Liberty of Delacroix. Except the costumes the painting is pure 19th century.