Gallery of Great Battles

The long gallery is lined with battle paintings, each presenting a different moment in a history selected in the nineteenth century. King Louis-Philippe created it for his museum of French history, opened in 1837. Rooms that had housed members of the royal household were transformed to make this continuous space. The sequence reaches from the early medieval kingdom to Napoleon’s era. These paintings belong to the later museum project, even when they depict much older events. Look for how a painter makes one commander or action legible within a crowded scene. The gallery’s selection celebrates victories and military leaders. It is a royal museum’s account of the past, rather than a complete history of the conflicts it represents.