The Entry of Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria (1573-1651) into Prague after Victory at the Battle of White Mountain (8 November 1620), oil on canvas, 34 x 87.5 cm, framed, (Rei)

The battle of the White Mountain near Prague on 8 November 1620 marked one of the most important and decisive moments in the history of Austrian Protestantism, and was simultaneously the first major military conflict of the Thirty Years War. In the battle the troops of the Catholic League of Emperor Ferdinand ll and Maximilian l, Duke of Bavaria, defeated the rebels from Bohemia and Upper Austria.

Although confident of their victory, the Protestant Bohemian troops suffered a severe setback, having been greatly outnumbered by the Catholic Bavarians. As a consequence of this defeat, Catholicism was reinstated and absolutism enforced in Bohemia and in Upper and Lower Austria. Victory by Maximilian l, Duke of Bavaria, in this battle was subsequently celebrated with a magnificent entry into Prague.
The present lot depicts this splendid procession, with Duke Maximilian l entering Prague clad in armour and riding a bay horse. Accompanied by fanfares and flag waving, the victor receives the keys of the city from a Prague legation.