Sketches of Seven Heads, etc.

Discussion

FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

This lithograph alludes to 16th-century French political and religious history. The War of the Three Henrys (1562–98) pitted the royalists—Henry III of France, Henry III of Navarre, and Henry I, the Duke of Guise—against one another. The inscription in the center translates as “What have you done Sully? They believe that I forgive you.” This suggests that the man kneeling on the ground is the Duke of Sully, an advisor to Henry III of Navarre. He significantly contributed to the rehabilitation and unification of France after the war.

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