Charles Edward Hallé painted at a time when there was an interest in the romanticised notion of knights and myths. The stance of his hero Quentin Durward is powerful, with one hand on his sword and the other holding the flag. The sense of pride and strength is unavoidable in his pose but his face tells a different story. His features are soft and there is a pensive look about him that suggests there is more to him than just being a soldier. Quentin Durward is the fictional hero from a Sir Walter Scott novel set in fifteenth-century France. He left poverty in Scotland and joined Louis XI’s Scottish guard as an archer, where his duty was to protect the Burgundian heiress Isabelle de Croye. They fell in love and, by proving himself worthy with the help of his uncle, they were given permission to marry.