Treaty of Vervins in 1598

This illustration by Charles-Joseph Mettais, titled “Treaty of Vervins in 1598,” depicts the conclusion of the Peace of Vervins, signed in 1598 between Henry IV and Philip II of Spain. The scene shows an indoor diplomatic assembly in which negotiators and representatives of the powers face one another in a solemn setting, emphasizing the political importance of the agreement. The treaty ended the open war between France and Spain and marked a major step in stabilizing the kingdom after the Wars of Religion. Created circa 1860 and published in Histoire populaire de la France under the direction of Ch. Lahure, this engraving belongs to the nineteenth-century tradition of historical illustration, which sought to give memorial and dramatic form to the great diplomatic episodes of the French past.