Sac de Rome de 390 avant J.-C.

This illustration by Alphonse de Neuville depicts the Sack of Rome in 390 BC, an episode associated with the Gallic invasion led by Brennus. The scene shows several Gallic warriors entering a monumental space where an elderly seated figure, calm and motionless, faces the invaders. The composition emphasizes the contrast between the impending violence of the conquerors and the silent dignity of the threatened figure, within a setting that evokes the sudden fall of the city. Produced in the nineteenth century for François Guizot’s illustrated history of France, the image is not a direct ancient witness but a historical reconstruction intended to give dramatic visual form to major episodes of Roman and Gallic origins. It reflects the taste of historical illustration for scenes of conquest, civilizational shock, and the heroic memory of Antiquity.