National Galleries of Scotland

This painting, probably based on eye-witness accounts and contemporary engravings, records the execution of Charles I on 30 January 1649 at Whitehall, after a long and bitter civil war. The inset pictures on the left show Charles as he appeared at his trial, and below, Charles walking to the scaffold. Those on the right show the moments immediately after the execution: the axeman holds up Charles's severed head while spectators hurry to dip their handkerchiefs in royal blood. The central image, with the swooning woman, hints at a parallel with Christ's crucifixion.