Charles I Raising His Standard at Nottingham

This is a sketch for one of eight paintings which Egg proposed for the Peers Corridor in the Houses of Parliament. The title given on the frame is incorrect, the scene being the early evening of 22 August 1642, when the King made the opening move of the Civil War against Parliament. The threatening sky, and the confused mass of troops contrasted with the unimposing, still figure of the King, suggest the momentousness of the occasion and the uncertainty of the future.