French Gallery

French Religious Wars 1562-1598. Siege of Poitiers 24 July-7 September 1569. Huguenots

French Religious Wars 1562-1598. Siege of Poitiers 24 July-7 September 1569. Huguenots under Gaspard de Coligny (1519-1572) besieged the city but the defenders held them off with the aid of heavy artillery and a small troop of cavalry, and by flooding meadows. Engraving by Jacques Tortorel fl1568-1590) and Jean-Jacques Perrissin (1536-1617) from their series on the Huguenot Wars c1570

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La Bouillotte, early 19th century. Scene of men and women in French Empire fashons

La Bouillotte, early 19th century. Scene of men and women in French Empire fashons at an evening entertainment watching a game of Bouillotte in progress at the card table. On the other side of the room by the fireplace two couples flirt, while an elderly man reads the Journal du Commerce. On the mantelpiece are a clock and two candlesticks and above it a large mirror reflects and increases the light from the candles and two oil lamps

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Napoleon III (Louis-Napoleon) 1808-73. Emperor of the French 1852-70. Portrait engraving

Napoleon III (Louis-Napoleon) 1808-73. Emperor of the French 1852-70. Portrait engraving from cover of sheet music published at the time of his visit to London with Empress Eugenie, April 1855 and celebrating French/British co-operation during the Crimean War. Music included Partant pour la Syrie by his mother Hortense Beauharnais, Napoleon's stepdaughter

© Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group