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There are two earlier versions of this subject taken from Johann Jakob Bodmer's (698-1783) poem Conradin von Schwaben. Conradin, Duke of Swabia (1252-68), the last scion of the house of Hohenstaufen, was captured by Charles of Anjou after his defeat at the battle of Tagliacozzo in 1268, and subsequently beheaded with his friend Frederick of Baden. Conradin was a keen chess player, a game he saw as symbolic of the struggle for power. The painting depicts the moment when he and his friend are informed by the judge Bary of their impending execution. The young Duke of Flanders weeps at this news, but Conradin and Frederick display only irritation at the interruption of their chess game.
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