01/21/2026
Caesar Leading an Attack
Tapestry, wool and silk, 8 warps per cm, Caesar Killing a Giant from a set of four of the History of Julius Caesar, Marcus de Vos, Brussels, c. 1655-1670. A tumultuous battle scene by the walls of a city. In the centre a soldier, probable Caesar, in a breastplate and leather tunic but no helmet, rushes forward, aiming his bow and arrow at an opponent who leaps down a grassy bank strewn with bodies, holding a shield in front of him and a sword in his outstretched right arm. The grassy bank leads up to the walls of a city or stronghold, and soldiers near the top of the bank aim arrows at those on the ramparts while to the right one man attempts to scale the wall with a ladder. The entire grassy bank is covered with the bodies of dead or injured soldiers, piled one upon another. In the right foreground two soldiers fight hand-to-hand, the stronger, wearing a red breastplate, pushing his opponent to the ground and holding aloft a dagger ready to dispatch him, while the defeated man desperately grabs his adversary’s beard. At the upper left an orderly column of troops with dark helmets can be seen approaching by the city walls. On the right hand side of the tapestry there is a landscape view. In the middle distance a group of armed men on horseback ride away from the battle looking over their shoulders, and in the background is an extensive encampment with a large group of infantry massed in front of it and a few mounted soldiers. One of the tents is decorated with an Imperial double-headed eagle.