Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Presentation of the Potence of the Order of the Golden Fleece

Michel-Ange Houasse
1680-1730

Presentation of the Potence of the Order of the Golden Fleece

13 5/8 x 19 5/8 inches (346 x 498 mm)
Pen and black ink and wash, over graphite, on paper.
III, 98

Purchased by Pierpont Morgan (1837-1913) in 1909.

Notes
This curious drawing languished among the anonymous drawings until 2023 when Francois Marandet identified it as the work of Houasse, who served as court painter to Philip V of Spain. The king continued the traditions of the chivalric order of the golden fleece, which led to the proper identification of the subject as a moment in the order's ritual. While a painted version of the composition by Houasse is not known, a signed and dated copy by Jacques Laumosnier, an obscure member of the Academie de St. Luc, was identified by Marandet in the collection of the Musee de Tesse, Le Mans. According to Marandet, the scene is set in the Palacio Real, Madrid, and the Morgan drawing may be the only surviving evidence for a series celebrating the History of Philip V.
Inscriptions/Markings
Watermark: Letters "ARC" above custer of grapes, all over a shield.
Associated names
Anonymous, French School, 18th cent, Formerly attributed to.
Murray, Charles Fairfax, 1849-1919, former owner.
Morgan, J. Pierpont (John Pierpont), 1837-1913, former owner.
Bibliography
Francois Marandet, “Michel-Ange Houasse and His Father, Rene-Antoine Houasse: New Drawings, New Perspectives,” Master Drawings 61:4 (2023): 487-504.
Collection J. Pierpont Morgan : Drawings by the Old Masters Formed by C. Fairfax Murray. London : Privately printed, 1905-1912, III, 98, repr. (as Anonymous, French School, 18th cent.).
Classification
Century Drawings
School
Department