In this work, Milles refers to the theme of love and separation, begun by the famous painting “Huguenot”. But if in “Huguenot” a scene from the history of the XVI century is transmitted, then the plot of the painting “Black Brunswick” refers to the period of the Napoleonic wars.
Here is a young officer in black uniform of a cavalryman from a regiment of the German town of Braunschweig. He says goodbye to his beloved, going to the battle of Waterloo. Black Brunswick fought on the side of England against Napoleon, became famous for their courage, but almost all died in battle, so the viewer who knows the story has every reason to believe that this young woman says goodbye to her officer forever.
The woman Milles wrote with Kate Dickens, daughter of Charles Dickens. The figure of the officer, according to John Gilles Milles, son and biographer of the artist, was written from a local life hussar, who died shortly after Milles finished his picture.