Item | Waddesdon Manor

studio of

previously attributed to Adam Frans van der Meulen (Belgian or Flemish, b.1632, d.1690)
previously attributed to Jean-Baptiste Martin (French, b.1659, d.1735)

Date

1692-1695

dated to related paintings at Versailles

Place of production

France

Medium

oil on canvas

Type of object

paintings

Accession number

2176

Large oil painting of Louis XIV accepting the surrender of Mons. Louis appears in the centre on horseback, riding a white horse, facing the right and pointing with his baton of command. He wears a grey coat and black wig tied with a red ribbon. A large number of noblemen and a priest on horseback appear to either side. They probably include the dauphin, the duc d'Orléans and the duc de Chartres. They may be the two men to the left of the King in blue and gold wearing the Order of Saint Esprit.

In front of the King's horse a group of six men stand on foot, several bow. To the right, there is an older man on horseback wearing a tricorn hat and wearing the Order of Saint Esprit - he may be the duc de Luxembourg who commanded the forces. A man behind him in a long black wig may be the marechal duc de Feuillade, who also commanded Louis's troops. In the right foreground, two men on horseback enter the scene in front of a tree. More trees appear on the left. The background has a panoramic view of the city of Mons and surrounding defences. Groups of horsemen and cannons appear in the middle distance.

Commentary

Mons was besieged by Louis XIV of France in March and April of 1691. This painting is close to two depictions of the scene painted by followers of Adam Frans van der Meulen (1632-1690), now at Versailles. It is most probably a studio work, one of the many smaller copies of paintings showing Louis XIV's successful campaigns made by van der Meulen's workshop (see P. Guerra, 'Mons et Namur, tableaux des Conquestes du Roy', Revue de l'Histoire de Versailles, 69 (1985), 35-46).

In 1692 and 1693, Louis commissioned Sauveur LeComte (c. 1659-1695) and Jean-Baptiste Martin to paint scenes of the siege from drawings taken in the field. The view of the city is identical with that in the painting made by LeComte for the vestibule of the Château de Marly in 1692 (Musée national des châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon, inv. no. MV 2079). The line of blue hills on the horizon and the inclusion of bare trees in the foreground in the Waddesdon painting are similar to this version. The figures in the foreground are similar to those in Jean-Baptiste Martin's painting of the Mons seige made around 1693-5, also at Versailles (inv. no. MV 2061). Martin depicted people bowing to Louis on his white horse, as in the Waddesdon version. Here, Louis appears in the centre, pointing his baton of command at his generals.

It is often difficult to tell the different hands of the pupils of Adam Frans van der Meulen apart due to their adherence to his style and composition. Although traditionally attributed to Martin, the landscape, trees and foliage of the Waddesdon painting are not that similar to other paintings by him. It is more likely to have been made by another member of the studio who drew from both Martin's and Lecomte's canvases, probably with some assistance by the head of the workshop, Martin. Martin succeeded Van der Meulen as Director of the Gobelins tapestry manufactory and as 'premier peintre de conquêtes du Roi' and finished Lecomte's work after his early death in January 1695.

Martin, a pupil and follower of van der Meulen, continued his master's arrangement for depicting Louis XIV's military conquests. Between 1660 and 1680, Louis XIV achieved a series of military conquests which helped cement his power and glory as the French 'Sun-King'. Writers and artists recorded these exploits as testament to his victories. The Flemish artist, van der Meulen, produced a series of paintings for the King's retreat at the Château de Marly depicting these military exploits in a manner very close in appearance to this painting. Van der Meulen's compositions were reproduced in prints and as tapestries. He was able to depict accurately the topography of battle locations in a sweeping background panorama, whilst arranging the figures in a group on a high foreground, clearly representing the different personalities and the chain of command. It was once thought that the Waddesdon painting was by van der Meulen, but he died before the siege of Mons and the figures are not sharp enough to be by him. On his death, Martin and LeComte were commissioned to complete the cycle of paintings in the Château de Marly. After LeComte's death in 1695, Martin worked with Pierre-Denis Martin (c. 1663-1742), probably his nephew and later his son, also Jean-Baptiste.

Mons was the main target of the 1691 campaign season, during the Nine Years War between France and a Europe-wide coalition, including Britain. Martin was the official artist on the campaign. A strategic city in the Spanish-Netherlands, Mons was captured quickly by the French with minimal losses. After a winter of preparation, Louis XIV joined his troops on 21 March, accompanied by the dauphin, the duc d'Orleans and the duc de Chartres, who may be portrayed in the group on the left of King in the painting. Louis took command over his two marshals, the duc de Luxembourg and the duc de La Feuillade, probably the two men on horseback to the right of the King. The city was surrounded and heavily bombarded, leading to an immediate surrender. Louis returned to Versailles on 12 April, and the army was able to undertake further campaigns during the Spring and Summer of 1691.

Phillippa Plock, 2012

Physical description

Dimensions (mm) / weight (mg)

1276 x 1626

Signature & date

not signed or dated

History

Provenance

Acquired by Alice de Rothschild (b.1847, d.1922); inherited by her great-nephew James de Rothschild (b.1878, d.1957); accepted by The Treasury Solicitor in lieu of taxes on the Estate of Mr James de Rothschild in 1963; bequeathed to Waddesdon (National Trust) in 1990.

Collection

Waddesdon (National Trust)
Accepted by HM Government in lieu of inheritance tax and allocated to the National Trust for display at Waddesdon Manor, 1990

Bibliography

Ellis Waterhouse, Anthony Blunt; Paintings: The James A. de Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor; Fribourg; Office du Livre, The National Trust; 1967; pp. 262-3, cat no. 120, ill.
Jeremy Black; War and the World: military power and the fate of continents, 1450-2000; London; Yale University Press; 1998; pp. 274, 278, fig. 74

Other details

Subject person

Louis XIV, King of France and Navarre, Pictured
François-Henri de Montmorency, duc de Luxembourg, Pictured
Philippe, Duc d' Orléans, possibly pictured
Philippe Charles, duc d' Orléans, possibly pictured
François d'Aubusson de La Feuillade, possibly pictured
Louis of France, Le Grand Dauphin, possibly pictured

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