Entrevue d'Éléonore de Guyenne avec le Sultan d'Iconie

This history painting depicts an imaginary or romanticized meeting between Eleanor of Guyenne, better known as Eleanor of Aquitaine, and the Sultan of Iconium. A major figure of the 12th century, Eleanor was successively Queen of France and Queen of England, and took part in the Second Crusade alongside Louis VII. The work reflects the 19th-century taste for the Orient, the Crusades, and great medieval female figures. It stages a diplomatic or symbolic encounter in an idealized eastern setting, emphasizing Eleanor’s prestige, the exotic character of the scene, and the romantic fascination with the medieval East.