01 Work, Louis van Engelen's Victory of Julius Caesar Over the Belgians, with footnotes

Louis van Engelen, 1856-1940

The Victory of Julius Caesar Over the Belgians

Oil on canvas

114 x 145 cms | 44 3/4 x 57 ins

Private collection

As Caesar arrived, likely in July 57 BC, the rumors of Belgae opposition proved true.

The main part of the Roman army were in the midst of making camp along the river, while the two newest legions were bringing up the rear with the slow moving baggage train. Caesar sent out his cavalry to scout the situation, apparently unaware of the massing enemy preparing for ambush in the surrounding forests.

The Nervii and their allied tribes nearly surrounded the Romans, threatening the camp and the utter destruction of Caesar’s army. Caesar’s timely intervention, however, personally standing and fighting with his men, helped Roman discipline maintain itself.

Three things in particular kept the Romans from absolute defeat. Caesar’s own personal intervention was important in stabilizing the men, the 2 legions with the baggage train arrived just in time to reinforce crumbling Roman lines, and the return of the Roman cavalry.

The Gallic Wars were waged between 58 and 50 BC by the Roman general Julius Caesar against the peoples of Gaul (present-day France, Belgium, along with parts of Germany and the United Kingdom). Gallic, Germanic, and British tribes fought to defend their homelands against an aggressive Roman campaign. The Wars culminated in the decisive Battle of Alesia in 52 BC, in which a complete Roman victory resulted in the expansion of the Roman Republic over the whole of Gaul. Though the Gallic military was as strong as the Romans, the Gallic tribes' internal divisions eased victory for Caesar. Caesar portrayed the invasion as being a preemptive and defensive action, but historians agree that he fought the Wars primarily to boost his political career and to pay off his debts. Still, Gaul was of significant military importance to the Romans. Native tribes in the region, both Gallic and Germanic, had attacked Rome several times. Conquering Gaul allowed Rome to secure the natural border of the river Rhine. More on The Gallic Wars

Louis van Engelen (born in 1856 in Lierre in Belgium - 1940 in Antwerp). A painter of history, portraits, landscapes and scenes of genre, he was the pupil of Verlat to the academy of Lierre, participated in the association "Als Ik Kan (if I can)" and was one of the founders of XIII (movement created in 1891) which gathers a group of dissidents of the first formation founded on October 25, 1883 under the name "Artistic Union of the Young Artists of Antwerp" which had as an aim to create exposures for its members. Two of his works are in the Antwerp museum. More on Louis van Engelen

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