The Liberation of the Prisoners of Carcassonne

Laurens, active in late 19th-century France, believed that history was the primary theme through which painters should portray the true essence of humanity. This painting is among his works based on historical events. In 1209, the Albigensian Crusade dispatched by Pope Innocent III occupied the city of Carcassonne, a stronghold of the heretical Catharist sect in southern France. The lord of Carcassonne, Raymond Roger Trencavel, and others surrendered and were imprisoned by the crusaders. Laurens depicted the moment when the prisoners received news of their release granted by the Pope, in a large-scale work exhibited at the 1879 Salon and purchased by the French government (it is now in the collection of the Carcassonne Museum). This painting is believed to one of those made in preparation for the larger work. (K.T.)