'Le duc de Guise'

Photograph of a painting by Paul Delaroche, created in 1834 and now in the collection of the Musée Condé in Chantilly (Inv. no. PE450). Inspired by an episode from sixteen-century French history, the work depicts the immediate aftermath of the assassination of Henri I de Lorraine, the duc de Guise (1550-1888) by Henry III's (1551-89) guard in 1588. Delaroche places the duke inside a large, rectangular bedchamber. His body lies in supine position on the floor beside the foot of a four-poster bed at the far right. On the opposite side, a group of standing, armed men engage in conversation, whilst the king enters the room through a curtained doorway.