Le roi Jean II le Bon reçoit au Louvre la soumission de Charles II le Mauvais, roi de Navarre

This history painting by Merry-Joseph Blondel, completed in 1834, depicts John II the Good receiving at the Louvre the submission of Charles II the Bad, king of Navarre, in 1354. The scene refers to one of the most tense episodes at the beginning of John II’s reign, after the assassination of Charles de la Cerda, the king’s favorite and constable of France, by supporters of Charles of Navarre. The work shows the solemn moment of forgiveness, while Jeanne of Évreux and Blanche of Navarre intercede on behalf of the Navarrese ruler. Commissioned under Louis-Philippe for the Museum of the History of France, it belongs to the great nineteenth-century program of history painting intended to illustrate major episodes from the French monarchical past.