Celtic Heroes

With growing nationalism for many European nations came the interest in their barbarian past. A good example is the French painter Evariste Vital Luminais (1821-1896), who had success with Merovingian, Viking and above all Celtic warriors.

Nothing about the great defeats. Here he is showing how the Celts are plundering Italy. In the background is decoratively burning a temple (though I doubt that temples will burn like this).

The booty consists once more in beautiful women - good old 19th century fashion!

A different War Painting

The English painter Sir John Everett Millais, (1829–1896) one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood shows here a scene from the English Civil War. But Millais isn’t the typical battle painter. He’s more interested in the victims and in forgiveness.

The Proscribed Royalist 1651 (1853)

A Royalist who has been proscribed, is hiding in a tree while a Puritan woman is helping him. The date 1651 refers to the incident when Charles II hid in an oak.