Execution of Charles de Gontaut, 1st Duke of Biron in Bastille, 31 July 1602

This illustration by Charles-Joseph Mettais, titled “Execution of Charles de Gontaut, 1st Duke of Biron in Bastille, 31 July 1602,” depicts the execution of Charles de Gontaut, Duke of Biron, at the Bastille on 31 July 1602. The scene shows the condemned man kneeling in prayer or contemplation, surrounded by guards and witnesses, while royal authority is conveyed through the solemnity of the judicial ceremony. The image emphasizes the downfall of a great nobleman under the reign of Henry IV, accused of treason after taking part in intrigues against the crown. Created around 1860 and published in Histoire populaire de la France under the direction of Ch. Lahure, this engraving belongs to the tradition of nineteenth-century historical illustration, which sought to give dramatic visual form to the major political and judicial episodes of the French past.