Art UK has updated its cookies policy. By using this website you are agreeing to the use of cookies. To find out more read our updated Use of Cookies policy and our updated Privacy policy.

Kings Clothar and Dagobert dispute with a Herald from the Emperor Mauritius

Image credit: The National Gallery, London

How you can use this image

This image can be used for non-commercial research or private study purposes, and other UK exceptions to copyright permitted to users based in the United Kingdom under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised. Any other type of use will need to be cleared with the rights holder(s).

Review the copyright credit lines that are located underneath the image, as these indicate who manages the copyright (©) within the artwork, and the photographic rights within the image.

The collection that owns the artwork may have more information on their own website about permitted uses and image licensing options.

Review our guidance pages which explain how you can reuse images, how to credit an image and how to find images in the public domain or with a Creative Commons licence available.

Buy a print or image licence

You can purchase this reproduction

If you have any products in your basket we recommend that you complete your purchase from Art UK before you leave our site to avoid losing your purchases.

Notes

Add or edit a note on this artwork that only you can see. You can find notes again by going to the ‘Notes’ section of your account.

Rubens made this oil sketch, along with two others, in preparation for an altarpiece commissioned for St Bavo’s Cathedral, Ghent. The central panel depicts Saint Bavo, a Roman soldier who left the military for the Christian Church, being received as a monk. This scene, in which King Clothar and his son King Dagobert each sit astride a horse, appears on the right panel.

The two kings hold their arms out defiantly to block the advances of a herald of the Roman Emperor Mauritius. He thrusts a scroll towards them, which contains an edict from the Emperor forbidding his soldiers from becoming monks. In defiance of the edict, Clothar and Dagobert support Saint Bavo being received into the Church. Although the three main figures are surrounded by a crowd of people, it is the horses that dominate the composition, especially Dagobert’s silvery steed – its body covers the width of the painting.

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

Kings Clothar and Dagobert dispute with a Herald from the Emperor Mauritius

Date

1611-12

Medium

Oil on oak

Measurements

H 107.6 x W 41.1 cm

Accession number

NG57.3

Acquisition method

Holwell Carr Bequest, 1831

Work type

Painting

Tags

This artwork does not have any tags yet. You can help by tagging artworks on Tagger.

Normally on display at

The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

This venue is open to the public. Not all artworks are on display. If you want to see a particular artwork, please contact the venue.
View venue