Arrestation de Charles le Mauvais, par le roi Jean, en 1356

This painting by Antoine Rivoulon, completed in 1838, depicts the arrest of Charles the Bad by King John during a banquet in Rouen on 5 April 1356. The scene refers to a major episode of the reign of John II the Good, in the troubled context of the Hundred Years’ War and the princely rivalries that were weakening the kingdom of France. Charles II of Navarre, an ambitious and unstable figure, is seized on the king’s orders after a period of acute political tension. Through its dramatic staging, the work illustrates the nineteenth century’s taste for medieval history painting, attentive to moments of rupture, gestures of royal authority, and dynastic conflict. Exhibited at the Salon of 1838 and again in 1839, it forms part of the visual rediscovery of major episodes in the history of the French monarchy. :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}