The Eve of the Battle of Edge Hill, 1642

What it is

This is an 1845 painting by Charles Landseer. It shows a camp scene under a large tree. A standing king in armour, wearing a blue sash and a black hat, leans over a table covered with a white cloth and a map. A seated officer gestures at the map. Two boys, a white horse, two dogs and soldiers with a red flag surround them. The catalogue notes identify the king as Charles I, wearing the blue sash of the Order of the Garter, with Prince Rupert of the Rhine seated beside him and Lord Lindsey standing next to the king. The standard-bearer is Sir Edmund Verney.

Why it matters

The painting was made in the 1840s, more than two hundred years after the Civil War began in 1642. It shows the king at the start of that conflict, surrounded by his commanders and, behind them, his two sons, the future Charles II and James II. The picture reflects how nineteenth-century artists liked to show the royal family in dramatic moments of their history.

Look closer

• Who is shown looking at the map, and what does their body language suggest about their roles?
• Why might the painter include the two boys and the dogs in a scene about war?
• What does this camp scene leave out about the real experience of soldiers in 1642?