A fine impression, printed in black ink on a cream wove paper, with plate tone.

In the second state Ensor added a crowd of viewers and marchers lower left in drypoint, populated the fields in the background with a myriad of tiny marchers (including a troop on horseback and four tiny elephants), and finished the stormy sky.

The tiny windmill at the extreme right border indicates that this scene depicts Julius Caesar’s invasion and victory over Gaul in 57 B.C. Many late 19th Century artists were captivated by ancient Roman or Greek historical events; Ensor was not one of them – he regarded this obsession with disdain – and Roman Victory is one of his very rare explorations in this realm.