Henry IV at the Battle of Arques,

Parallel to the cycle for Marie de’ Medici, Rubens received the commission for a second series of works in 1622. This was dedicated to Marie’s husband, King Henry IV, and was to document events that actually took place with depictions of battles and victories. Rubens’s figures only occupy about one third of the pictorial space. The remaining area is reserved for Pieter Snayers’s accurate historical recording of the battle. Here, still their commander, Henry led the Huguenots into battle against the Catholic League. The painting remains unfinished as the cycle was never completed.