An equestrian game with riders jousting among fireworks, 1575-c.1580 (black chalk, pen & brown ink,...

This courtly scene records a chivalric battle arranged by the French King Charles IX (1550-74) and his mother Catherine de’ Medici (1519–89) in 1565 to entertain their Spanish guests. A contemporary marveled that the knights were separated by balls of fire that made an enormous noise like canon shots but did not injure a single combatant. Numbered “6” at bottom centre, Caron’s highly stylised drawing served as a preparatory design for the set of eight Valois Tapestries (Uffizi, Florence), considered to be among the finest wall hangings of the Renaissance.