The Siege of La Rochelle

The French Henri-Paul Motte (1846-1922) was a student of the famous Gérôme and became a very experienced history painter, whose paintings were frequently as illustrations in books and magazines.
Here he depicts the great Cardinal Richelieu at the Siege of La Rochelle the last Huguenot stronghold in France. To block the seaward access to the city Richelieu ordered a long fortified seawall to be build.

Cardinal Richelieu at the Siege of La Rochelle (1881)

The Execution of Jane Grey

The famous French history painter Hippolyte Delaroche (1797-1856) depicts here the Execution of Lady Jane Grey, who had been queen of England only for nine days, when she was deposed by the Catholic Mary I, who became later known as 'Bloody Mary' for her persecution of the Protestants. Delaroche concentrates totally on the personal drama, the poor and helpless queen, the weeping court ladies, even the executioner seems touched.

The Execution of Lady Jane Grey (1833)