Battle Scene: Charles VIII Receiving the Crown of Naples

Clashing swords; a tangle of bodies; confusion reigns on this battlefield. In the midst of the melee, a knight in armor, holding a sword and a scepter bearing the fleur-de-lis, receives the crown handed to him by a child. Here, the Venetian painter Francesco Bassano depicts the conquest of Naples by the French king Charles VIII, eager to regain the former French province. However, this battle never took place. On February 22, 1495, Charles VIII was handed the keys of the city without having to fight, as the King of Spain, Ferdinand II, who held the kingdom of Naples, fled when the French troops arrived.