Three knights search in the woods for the king

The scene portrayed in Three knights search in the woods for the king takes place at night and shows the three court knights, Sully, Cascinò and Bellagarde wandering in search of the lost king in the woods.

It refers to the story that saw Henry IV move away from his quarters to better reflect on the political choices to be made for the good of France, at the time devastated by religious wars and power conflicts.

The lingering of the sovereign, not yet returned to the residence, causes three of his knights to decide to go and look for him. It is precisely in this context that the scene develops: making their way through the dense vegetation, the main characters encounter a carpenter who – intimidated by the sight of them – falls to his knees, causing the bundle of collected wood and his hat to fall disastrously.