{"id":5116,"date":"2022-08-26T10:08:55","date_gmt":"2022-08-26T08:08:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/?post_type=phoebus_findings&#038;p=5116"},"modified":"2024-03-19T16:57:20","modified_gmt":"2024-03-19T15:57:20","slug":"3","status":"publish","type":"phoebus_findings","link":"https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/en\/phoebus_findings\/3\/","title":{"rendered":"Military Triumph and Mistresses"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-text-color wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#998a5b\">Dr. Leen Kelchtermans <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Brussels painter Adam Frans Van der Meulen (1632-1690) created quite a furore at the court of the French King Louis XIV (1638-1715). He immortalised his military triumphs, embellished with the necessary pomp and bravado, as he did the royal couple\u2019s entry in Douai, Northern France, in 1667. Van der Meulen actually depicted this event several times: at least three versions are known to date. The version in the collection of The Phoebus Foundation is without a doubt the most intriguing. For if you look closely, you will discover that the work not only includes the portraits of the king, his generals and his wife, but also &#8230; of his mistresses! <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-spotify wp-block-embed-spotify wp-embed-aspect-21-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Spotify Embed: Episode 21: Intrede van Lodewijk XIV in Douai (Adam Frans Van der Meulen) - Leen Kelchtermans\" style=\"border-radius: 12px\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/episode\/0clEoG7ikfNMC7xzTrbGfz?si=-8URNut3TVi9kiCIJQvdxQ&#038;utm_source=oembed\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:35px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1611\" src=\"https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.1-2000x1611.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5035\" srcset=\"https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.1-2000x1611.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.1-1200x967.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.1-768x619.jpg 768w, https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.1-1536x1237.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.1-2048x1650.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Adam Frans Van der Meulen, <em>Entry of Louis XIV and Maria Theresia in Douai in 1667<\/em>, after 1667. Oil on canvas, 65.5 x 82 cm.\r\nAntwerp, The Phoebus Foundation<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Entry in Douai<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On 23 July 1667, Douai was honoured with a prestigious visit.<sup><a href=\"#footnote_1_5116\" id=\"identifier_1_5116\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-identifier-link\" title=\"P.A. Plouvain, Souvenirs &agrave; l&rsquo;usage des habitans de Douai ou Notes pour servir &agrave; l&rsquo;histoire de cette ville, jusques et inclus l&rsquo;ann&eacute;e 1821, Douai, 1822: 386-387. I. Richefort, Adam-Fran&ccedil;ois Van der Meulen (1632-1690). Peintre flamand au service de Louis XIV, Antwerp, 2004: 224 mentions 30 August 1667. Sometimes 4 or 23 August 1667 is also mentioned, as in the online databases of the Mus&eacute;e du Louvre and the Ch&acirc;teau de Versailles. See https:\/\/collections.louvre.fr\/en\/ark:\/53355\/cl010237037, [consulted on 06.02.2022]; http:\/\/collections.chateauversailles.fr\/#b3e9466e-c935-49a3-bc84-4976792fc90f, [consulted on 06.02.2022].\">1<\/a><\/sup> The people flocked to the streets that were decked out in his honour. After it had been captured by the French army earlier that month, Louis XIV and Maria Theresia of Spain (1638-1683) paid the city a visit. Their marriage was nothing more than a business transaction. Maria Theresia was a good match: she was the daughter of the former enemy, the Spanish King Philip IV (1605-1665). When she married, she renounced her inheritance \u2013 which meant the Spanish territories would not belong to the French crown \u2013 in exchange for a dowry of 500 000 <em>\u00e9cus<\/em>. However, the dowry was never paid. When his father-in-law died in 1665, Louis XIV was of the opinion that his wife had retained her inheritance rights, especially the right to the Spanish Netherlands. Moreover, Maria Theresia was the only surviving child from Philip IV\u2019s first marriage. So, according to the devolution law that the Sun King liked to use to his advantage, devoid of nuance, she was the first heiress.<sup><a href=\"#footnote_2_5116\" id=\"identifier_2_5116\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-identifier-link\" title=\"F. Lauwaerts, Het slagveld van Europa. De rol van de Spaanse Nederlanden in de internationale politiek van Engeland (1665-1668), master&rsquo;s thesis, UGent, 2015-2016: 98-140.\">2<\/a><\/sup> Since the Spaniards did not readily accept this claim, he launched a military campaign in May 1667, heralding the start of the so-called War of Devolution. The violence continued until the Treaty of Aachen was signed on 2 May 1668.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Louis XIV set off to the front with his entire court. His army defeated the weakened Spanish troops with ease. Important cities such as Courtrai, Tournai, Lille and Aalst fell into French hands. Douai, too, was occupied on 1 July 1667, and after just five days, was forced to surrender. As a charm offensive and to emphasise the fact that the conquered city belonged to the French crown \u2018anyway\u2019 through his marriage to the Spanish Maria Theresia, Louis XIV summoned his wife from Compi\u00e8gne so they could pay an official visit to Douai. In his memoirs, the Sun King wrote of the irritation of the city leaders who felt they were given insufficient time to prepare for this important visit: \u2018<em>Je menais la Reine avec moi \u00e0 dessein de la faire voir aux peuples des villes que je venais d\u2019assujettir: de quoi ils se sentent tellement oblig\u00e9s qu\u2019apr\u00e8s avoir tout mis en usage pour la bien recevoir, ils t\u00e9moign\u00e8rent encore qu\u2019ils \u00e9taient f\u00e2ch\u00e9s de n\u2019avoir pas eu plus de temps de s\u2019y pr\u00e9parer<\/em>.\u2019<sup><a href=\"#footnote_3_5116\" id=\"identifier_3_5116\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-identifier-link\" title=\"Richefort 2004: 224-225.\">3<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1666\" src=\"https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.2-2000x1666.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5037\" srcset=\"https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.2-2000x1666.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.2-1200x1000.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.2-768x640.jpg 768w, https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.2-1536x1279.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.2-2048x1706.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Adam Frans Van der Meulen<strong>, <\/strong><em>Siege of Courtrai<\/em>, after 1667. Oil on canvas, 78.5 x 95 cm.\r\n\r\nAntwerp, The Phoebus Foundation<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1493\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-3.-Portret-Van-der-Meulen_RP-P-1940-1591-1493x2000.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5039\" style=\"width:316px;height:423px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-3.-Portret-Van-der-Meulen_RP-P-1940-1591-1493x2000.jpeg 1493w, https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-3.-Portret-Van-der-Meulen_RP-P-1940-1591-896x1200.jpeg 896w, https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-3.-Portret-Van-der-Meulen_RP-P-1940-1591-768x1029.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-3.-Portret-Van-der-Meulen_RP-P-1940-1591-1146x1536.jpeg 1146w, https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-3.-Portret-Van-der-Meulen_RP-P-1940-1591-1529x2048.jpeg 1529w, https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-3.-Portret-Van-der-Meulen_RP-P-1940-1591.jpeg 1769w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1493px) 100vw, 1493px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pieter Van Schuppen after Nicolas de Largilli\u00e8re <em>Portrait of Adam Frans Van der Meulen, <\/em>1687. Engraving, 529 x 403 mm. Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Top job in Paris<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Adam Frans Van der Meulen was the son of a Brussels notary who opted to become a painter. On 18 May 1646, he registered as a pupil of the battle painter Peter Snayers (1592-1667).<sup><a href=\"#footnote_4_5116\" id=\"identifier_4_5116\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-identifier-link\" title=\"S. De Vries, &lsquo;Adam-Frans van der Meulen (1632-1690), hofschilder van Lodewijk XIV, in de Republiek: 1672-1673&rsquo;, Jaarboek Monumentenzorg (1990): 134-147; Richefort 2004; R. Wellington, &lsquo;The Cartographic Origins of Adam Frans van der Meulen&rsquo;s Marly Cycle&rsquo;, Print Quarterly, 28, 2 (2011): 142-154, especially 144-145; L. Kelchtermans, Geschilderde gevechten, gekleurde verslagen. Een contextuele analyse van Peter Snayers&rsquo; (1592-1667) topografische strijdtaferelen voor de Habsburgse elite tussen herinnering en verheerlijking, 1, doctoral thesis, KU Leuven, 2013: 44. See also L. Starcky, Dessins de Van der Meulen et de son atelier, mus. cat., Paris, Mobilier national, 1988; &Agrave; la gloire du roi: Van der Meulen, peintre des conqu&ecirc;tes de Louis XIV, exh. cat., Dijon, Mus&eacute;e des beaux-arts de Dijon, Luxemburg, Mus&eacute;e d&rsquo;histoire de la ville de Luxembourg, 1998.\">4<\/a><\/sup> He became Snayers\u2019 apprentice when the latter was at the height of his career. Snayers became renowned for his large-scale topographical battle scenes in which he recorded the military feats of distinguished generals with great attention to detail. Van der Meulen\u2019s style is very similar to that of his teacher. Five years later, in 1651, he himself became a master painter in the painters\u2019 guild in Brussels. Van der Meulen\u2019s talent was soon noticed abroad, for in 1664 he left his native city to settle in Paris at the request of Charles Le Brun (1619-1690). At the time, Le Brun was Louis XIV\u2019s principal court painter, who glorified his patron through all manner of allegorical scenes or through depictions from Classical Antiquity. So when, in 1662-1664, the idea arose of designing an ambitious series of tapestries in which the Sun King was lauded by means of a detailed depiction of actual events, attracting the Brussels landscape and battle painter was a smart move.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The series of tapestries was called <em>L\u2019Histoire du roi<\/em>. The first edition consisted of fourteen tapestries, woven between 1665 and 1679 in the prestigious Manufacture Royale des Gobelins in Paris.<sup><a href=\"#footnote_5_5116\" id=\"identifier_5_5116\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-identifier-link\" title=\"Richefort 2004: 73-83; J. Vittet, &lsquo;[History of the King, cat. nos. 41-47]&rsquo;, in: T.P. Campbell (ed.), Tapestry in the Baroque: Threads of Splendor, exh. cat., New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Madrid, Palacio Real, 2007: 374-389, especially 374-384.\">5<\/a><\/sup> They depict events that date from the King\u2019s coronation in 1654 and the capture of Dole in 1668. They all highlight the Sun King\u2019s military valour, diplomatic qualities and love of art. The War of Devolution was a vital component of this magnificent series. In preparation, Le Brun and Van der Meulen accompanied the King to the front. Van der Meulen\u2019s approach differed from that of his teacher in this regard, as contemporary biographers indicate that Snayers never accompanied a campaign. Van der Meulen produced a considerable number of preliminary studies of the military events and of the conquered cities and their surroundings. A drawing of the French royal couple\u2019s entry in Douai in July 1667 has also been preserved.<sup><a href=\"#footnote_6_5116\" id=\"identifier_6_5116\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-identifier-link\" title=\"For this drawing (inv. 27633), see https:\/\/collections.louvre.fr\/en\/ark:\/53355\/cl020213469, [consulted on 06.02.2022]. There is also another profile drawing of Douai that Van der Meulen produced in situ. Its viewpoint differs slightly from that of the painted versions. In the foreground, the figures are rendered very sketchy. The drawing is kept in the collection of the Mobilier national in Paris (inv. NO-90-000, paper, 410 x 230 mm), see https:\/\/collection.mobiliernational.culture.gouv.fr\/objet\/NO-90-000, [consulted on 06.02.2022].\">6<\/a><\/sup> Van der Meulen produced the city\u2019s profile in great detail. A comparison with the map of the city in Joannes Blaeu\u2019s <em>Novum ac magnum theatrum urbium Belgicae regiae<\/em> (1652) shows that Van der Meulen depicted a view of the Porte d\u2019Arras city gate. Le Brun drew the royal caravan in the foreground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"489\" src=\"https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-4.-Tekening-Le-Brun-en-Van-der-Meulen_Louvre_AGO213469-000_PE-1-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5044\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Charles Le Brun and Adam Frans Van der Meulen, <em>Entry of Louis XIV and Maria Theresia in Douai in 1667<\/em><em>, <\/em>1667. Paris, Mus\u00e9e du Louvre<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1525\" height=\"1295\" src=\"https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-5.-Douai_Blaeu_TPF.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5046\" style=\"width:467px;height:396px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-5.-Douai_Blaeu_TPF.jpeg 1525w, https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-5.-Douai_Blaeu_TPF-1200x1019.jpeg 1200w, https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-5.-Douai_Blaeu_TPF-768x652.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1525px) 100vw, 1525px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Joannes Blaeu, <em>Dovay (with Porte d&#8217;Arras city gate)<\/em>, in: J. Blaeu, <em>Novum ac magnum theatrum urbium Belgicae regiae<\/em>, 1652\r\nAntwerp, The Phoebus Foundation<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since the entry in Douai was initially to be included in the <em>L\u2019Histoire du roi<\/em> series, Van der Meulen made a modello or a small, preparatory oil sketch after that particular drawing, which is now located in the Ch\u00e2teau de Versailles (on long-term loan from the Mus\u00e9e du Louvre).<sup><a href=\"#footnote_7_5116\" id=\"identifier_7_5116\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-identifier-link\" title=\"In total, Van der Meulen produced eight modelli for L&rsquo;Histoire du Roi, including those depicting the sieges of Tournai and Douai. For the modello in the Mus&eacute;e du Louvre (inv. MV 5906), see https:\/\/collections.louvre.fr\/en\/ark:\/53355\/cl010237037, [consulted on 06.02.2022]; http:\/\/collections.chateauversailles.fr\/#b3e9466e-c935-49a3-bc84-4976792fc90f, [consulted on 06.02.2022]; Richefort 2004: 79, 81, 224-225 (as a collaboration between Van der Meulen and Le Brun).\">7<\/a><\/sup> The painted version only differs from the sketch with regard to minor details in the foreground. For example, the ladies in the carriage are wearing a scarf on their heads and their gaze is different from that in the painting. Van der Meulen\u2019s modello formed the basis for a tapestry cartoon measuring no less than 352 by 580 cm, which was elaborated by Baudouin Yvart in the same period.<sup><a href=\"#footnote_8_5116\" id=\"identifier_8_5116\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-identifier-link\" title=\"The cartoon is part of the collection of the Ch&acirc;teau de Versailles (inv. MV 2078), see http:\/\/collections.chateauversailles.fr\/#29735b40-d543-4079-ad98-2b0aad966c53, [consulted on 06.02.2022].\">8<\/a><\/sup> &nbsp;Four events related to the War of Devolution were eventually woven for the <em>L\u2019Histoire du Roi<\/em> series: the sieges of Tournai, Douai, the capture of Lille and the defeat of the Count de Marsin. The king himself had taken part in these four military feats. Perhaps it was because he was not the only one who played a role in the entry in Douai, as he was accompanied by the queen, that he finally decided to remove the subject from the series. As a result, the cartoon was not woven.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1500\" height=\"1192\" src=\"https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-6.-Modello-Intrede_Louvre\u00b00000770814_OG-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5070\" srcset=\"https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-6.-Modello-Intrede_Louvre\u00b00000770814_OG-1.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-6.-Modello-Intrede_Louvre\u00b00000770814_OG-1-1200x954.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-6.-Modello-Intrede_Louvre\u00b00000770814_OG-1-768x610.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Adam Frans Van der Meulen, <em>Modello of the Entry of Louis XIV and Maria Theresia in Douai in 1667<\/em>, after 1667. Oil on canvas, 63 x 81 cm.\r\nParis, Mus\u00e9e du Louvre<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1291\" height=\"809\" src=\"https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-7.-Yvart_karton_Versailles.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5072\" srcset=\"https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-7.-Yvart_karton_Versailles.jpg 1291w, https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-7.-Yvart_karton_Versailles-1200x752.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-7.-Yvart_karton_Versailles-768x481.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1291px) 100vw, 1291px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Baudouin Yvart naar Adam Frans Van der Meulen, <em>Tapestry Cartoon<\/em> <em>of the Entry of Louis XIV and Maria Theresia in Douai in 1667<\/em>, <em>c.<\/em>1667-1690. Oil on canvas, 352 x 580 cm. Versailles, Ch\u00e2teau de Versailles, \u00a9 RMN&nbsp; &#8211; Grand Palais<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Where\u2019s Wally? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although the scene of the royal entry in Douai was not included in the <em>L\u2019Histoire du Roi<\/em> tapestry series, it was popular nonetheless. For Van der Meulen painted at least two other versions after the modello. There is the virtually identical representation, albeit somewhat larger in size, in the Mus\u00e9e de la Chartreuse in Douai,<sup><a href=\"#footnote_9_5116\" id=\"identifier_9_5116\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-identifier-link\" title=\"For the version in the Mus&eacute;e de la Chartreuse (inv. 238, oil on canvas, 74 x 92 cm), see https:\/\/webmuseo.com\/ws\/musenor\/app\/collection\/record\/1393?vc=ePkH4LF7w6yelGA1CLiigvsIZ-I0NYZWj0QmJH3iUiY8m2FWvEaWBmg1tKEpenVPlC4TjEYCInMTymfQ_B2WmKcAqgB8U0uBIQg2DxbJALJTc08$, [consulted on 06.02.2022]. A very similar version was auctioned at Dorotheum on 12.05.2022 (lot 288, as the circle of Adam Frans Van der Meulen, oil on canvas, 65 x 82 cm). With thanks to Niels Schalley.\">9<\/a><\/sup> and the version in the collection of The Phoebus Foundation. The design of the three works is the same, but remarkably, the faces of some of the horsemen and of the ladies in the carriage are much more detailed in The Phoebus Foundation\u2019s painting. They are clearly individual portraits.<sup><a href=\"#footnote_10_5116\" id=\"identifier_10_5116\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-identifier-link\" title=\"A visual analysis and an infrared reflectography image of the portraits on the canvas show that they are authentic and not overpainted or worked on at a later date. With thanks to Sven Van Dorst and Adri Verburg.\">10<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1853\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-8.-Detail-ruiters-TPF-1853x2000.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5074\" srcset=\"https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-8.-Detail-ruiters-TPF-1853x2000.jpg 1853w, https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-8.-Detail-ruiters-TPF-1112x1200.jpg 1112w, https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-8.-Detail-ruiters-TPF-768x829.jpg 768w, https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-8.-Detail-ruiters-TPF-1423x1536.jpg 1423w, https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-8.-Detail-ruiters-TPF-1898x2048.jpg 1898w, https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-8.-Detail-ruiters-TPF.jpg 1971w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1853px) 100vw, 1853px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Detail of the version in the collection of The Phoebus Foundation: horsemen behind the carriage <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"542\" height=\"719\" src=\"https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-9.-Le-Brun-Lodewijk-XIV_Louvre_AGO207654-000_PE-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5076\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Charles Le Brun, <em>Portrait of Louis XIV<\/em>, 1667. Drawing, 523 x 402 mm. Paris, Mus\u00e9e du Louvre<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">First, there is the Sun King himself. Louis XIV can be recognised as the rider on the brown horse behind the royal carriage. He is dressed in a lavish cloak decorated with gold thread and his black hat sports red plumes. He looks in the direction of the spectator and holds the commander\u2019s staff in one hand and the reins of his horse in the other. The latter is significant because, just as he controlled his steed, he ruled his people \u2013 and thus the newly captured city of Douai \u2013 as absolute monarch. While Van der Meulen depicts the king in the modello with a firm jawline, in The Phoebus Foundation\u2019s version he paints a less idealised royal face. Louis XIV not only looks slightly older, but his cheeks are fuller, his nose plumper and he has a fine moustache on his upper lip. A comparison with Le Brun\u2019s pastel drawing of the king from 1667 \u2013 the year of the entry in Douai \u2013 makes it clear that Van der Meulen depicted him more lifelike in The Phoebus Foundation\u2019s version than in the modello. The horseman, who is also wearing a richly decorated cloak, portrayed astride a white horse, is probably Louis XIV\u2019s brother, Philip \u2018Monsieur\u2019 d\u2019Orl\u00e9ans (1640-1701). Monsieur\u2019s luxuriant black curls and large nose can also be recognised in his portrait print by Antwerp-born Pieter Van Schuppen (1627-1702), who worked in Paris. The two brothers\u2019 high rank can be deduced from the fact that they are the only ones wearing hats, whereas the others have taken them off out of respect. Another recognisable figure is Henri de la Tour d\u2019Auvergne, Viscount of Turenne (1611-1675), who played an important role in the campaign of 1667. He is the rider behind Monsieur, with dark sleek hair, a moustache and goatee. Pieter De Jode II\u2019s print after Anselm Van Hulle\u2019s portrait of the general confirms his identification. Between Louis XIV and his brother, Van der Meulen possibly depicted S\u00e9bastien Le Prestre de Vauban (1633-1707), as a comparison with his portrait by the studio of Fran\u00e7ois de Troy (1645-1730) suggests. This military engineer, whom Louis XIV held in high esteem, suffered a gunshot wound to the face during the fierce siege of Douai.<sup><a href=\"#footnote_11_5116\" id=\"identifier_11_5116\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-identifier-link\" title=\"J.J.E. Roy, Histoire de Vauban, Lille, 1850: 40-41.\">11<\/a><\/sup> De Troy\u2019s portrait shows the scar on his left cheek. Did Van der Meulen want to hide his disfigured face by turning him towards the king so that only the right side of his face had to be visible?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1738\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-10.-Filips-dOrleans_Rijksmuseum_RP-P-OB-70.107-1738x2000.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5079\" style=\"width:467px;height:537px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-10.-Filips-dOrleans_Rijksmuseum_RP-P-OB-70.107-1738x2000.jpeg 1738w, https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-10.-Filips-dOrleans_Rijksmuseum_RP-P-OB-70.107-1043x1200.jpeg 1043w, https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-10.-Filips-dOrleans_Rijksmuseum_RP-P-OB-70.107-768x884.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-10.-Filips-dOrleans_Rijksmuseum_RP-P-OB-70.107-1335x1536.jpeg 1335w, https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-10.-Filips-dOrleans_Rijksmuseum_RP-P-OB-70.107-1779x2048.jpeg 1779w, https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-10.-Filips-dOrleans_Rijksmuseum_RP-P-OB-70.107.jpeg 1802w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1738px) 100vw, 1738px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pieter Van Schuppen after Charles Le Brun, <em>Portrait of Filips d\u2019Orl\u00e9ans<\/em>, 1670. Engraving, 493 x 421 mm. Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1307\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-11.-Turenne_Rijksmuseum_RP-P-1920-1901-1307x2000.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5081\" srcset=\"https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-11.-Turenne_Rijksmuseum_RP-P-1920-1901-1307x2000.jpeg 1307w, https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-11.-Turenne_Rijksmuseum_RP-P-1920-1901-784x1200.jpeg 784w, https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-11.-Turenne_Rijksmuseum_RP-P-1920-1901-768x1175.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-11.-Turenne_Rijksmuseum_RP-P-1920-1901-1004x1536.jpeg 1004w, https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-11.-Turenne_Rijksmuseum_RP-P-1920-1901.jpeg 1331w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1307px) 100vw, 1307px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pieter II De Jode after Anselm Van Hulle, <em>Portrait of Henri de la Tour d\u2019Auvergne, Viscount of Turenne<\/em>, <em>c.<\/em>1650-1670. Engraving, 306 x 205 mm.\r\nAmsterdam, Rijksmuseum<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"674\" height=\"840\" src=\"https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-12.-Vauban_Versailles-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5111\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Fran\u00e7ois de Troy (studio), <em>Portrait of S\u00e9bastien Le Prestre de Vauban<\/em>, after 1667. Oil on canvas, 74 x 59 cm. Versailles, Ch\u00e2teau de Versailles \u00a9 RMN&nbsp; &#8211; Grand Palais<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the stunning carriage, positioned in the centre of the scene, is the queen with her ladies-in-waiting. While the heads of the women in the modello are less detailed \u2013 the queen on the left is not easy to recognise and her companions are not particularly distinctive \u2013 this is not at all the case in The Phoebus Foundation\u2019s version. The facial features of Maria Theresia, with her full cheeks, long nose and narrow mouth, as recorded in print by another Antwerp-born artist, Nicolaes Pitau I, in Paris in 1662, correspond to the severe-looking lady sitting in the carriage on the left. In the painting the leaders of Douai, dressed in black with a red sash over their shoulders, are kneeling in front of her out of respect. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What about the other ladies in the carriage? They are none other than the king\u2019s mistresses! In front of the queen sits Louise-Fran\u00e7oise de La Baume Le Blanc de La Valli\u00e8re (1644-1710), revealed by her printed portrait produced by Nicolas de Larmessin I in around 1667-1674. The similarities of her appearance, including her almond-shaped eyes, rather pointed chin and ringlets, are unmistakable in the two works. Van der Meulen may also have included her \u2013 albeit much less obviously \u2013 in the tapestry modello. \r\n\r\n<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1111\" src=\"https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.1_detail-2000x1111.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5088\" srcset=\"https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.1_detail-2000x1111.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.1_detail-1200x666.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.1_detail-768x426.jpg 768w, https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.1_detail-1536x853.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.1_detail-2048x1137.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Detail of the version in the collection of The Phoebus Foundation: ladies in the carriage<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Louise de La Valli\u00e8re was a lady of modest noble birth, who was hopelessly in love with Louis XIV and managed to win his heart as lady-in-waiting to his sister-in-law Henrietta Anne of England (1644-1670).<sup><a href=\"#footnote_12_5116\" id=\"identifier_12_5116\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-identifier-link\" title=\"J. Lair, Louise de la Valli&egrave;re et la jeunesse de Louis XIV d&rsquo;apr&egrave;s des documents in&eacute;dits, Paris, 1881: especially 173-182; C. Hanken, &lsquo;De koning en de dame. Over de ontwikkeling van de functie van de koninklijke ma&icirc;tresse in Frankrijk (1444-1774)&rsquo;, Amsterdams Sociologisch Tijdschrift, 19, 4 (1993): 70-78; A. Fraser, Love and Louis XIV. The Women in the Life of The Sun King, London, 2007: 67, 80, 84-97, 101-105.\">12<\/a><\/sup> It was common knowledge that Louis XIV and his wife\u2019s relationship was not very loving. Maria Theresia was never really accepted. She did not master French particularly well, was not interested in French fashion and dance culture, and was not exactly a great beauty. Louise de La Valli\u00e8re, on the other hand, was gracious, sweet and obliging. Initially they kept their affair secret and when she became pregnant in 1663, De La Valli\u00e8re moved to a country estate near the palace of Versailles. To improve her position, the king organised a grand festival in the summer of 1664, the eight-day spectacle <em>Plaisirs de l\u2019\u00eele enchant\u00e9<\/em>, and appointed her <em>ma\u00eetresse en titre<\/em>. Thus De La Valli\u00e8re became the Sun King\u2019s first official mistress. From then on, the couple appeared in public together, although De La Valli\u00e8re found it difficult to cope with the intense pressure and the piercing eyes that inevitably accompanied her status as the king\u2019s \u2018lover\u2019.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1507\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-14.-Maria_Theresia_Rijksmuseum_RP-P-OB-61.145-1507x2000.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5090\" srcset=\"https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-14.-Maria_Theresia_Rijksmuseum_RP-P-OB-61.145-1507x2000.jpeg 1507w, https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-14.-Maria_Theresia_Rijksmuseum_RP-P-OB-61.145-904x1200.jpeg 904w, https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-14.-Maria_Theresia_Rijksmuseum_RP-P-OB-61.145-768x1019.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-14.-Maria_Theresia_Rijksmuseum_RP-P-OB-61.145-1157x1536.jpeg 1157w, https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-14.-Maria_Theresia_Rijksmuseum_RP-P-OB-61.145-1543x2048.jpeg 1543w, https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-14.-Maria_Theresia_Rijksmuseum_RP-P-OB-61.145.jpeg 1611w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1507px) 100vw, 1507px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Nicolaes I Pitau after Charles Beaubrun, <em>Portrait of Maria Theresia of Spain<\/em>, 1662. Engraving, 342 x 256 mm. Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Whereas nowadays extramarital adventures are usually conducted in the greatest secrecy, it was completely different at the court of Versailles.<sup><a href=\"#footnote_13_5116\" id=\"identifier_13_5116\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-identifier-link\" title=\"Hanken 1993: 79-84.\">13<\/a><\/sup> After all, Louis XIV had little to no privacy whatsoever. To anchor his autocratic rule, he had gathered the nobility around him and assigned them all kinds of positions within the cumbersome court etiquette that had to be followed at all costs. Its rules were based on the principle of inequality: one rank enjoyed more privileges than the other. Competition among the nobility was cut-throat: they all strived for the king\u2019s favour and coveted a higher position. Everyone with whom the Sun King spoke \u2013 and everyone with whom he did not \u2013 every glance, every gesture, was closely observed. However stifling, this set-up ensured that Louis XIV was firmly in control. His mistress was \u2013 to a far greater extent than the queen \u2013 his confidante, for she knew everyone at court and was extremely loyal. After all, she owed her distinguished but precariously insecure status solely to the monarch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Therefore, De La Valli\u00e8re\u2019s official title afforded her protection and a certain prestige. The children she had with Louis XIV were recognised and, before the king left on the military campaign of May 1667, he appointed her \u2013 for her security and out of his love for her, or as he wrote in his memoirs: \u2018<em>convenable \u00e0 l\u2019affection que j\u2019avois pour elle depuis six ans<\/em>\u2019 \u2013 Duchess of Vaujours.<sup><a href=\"#footnote_14_5116\" id=\"identifier_14_5116\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-identifier-link\" title=\"A. Ch&eacute;ruel, M&eacute;moires de Mlle de Montpensier, petite-fille de Henri IV, collationn&eacute;s sur le manuscrit autographe avec notes biographiques et historiques, 4, Paris, 1859: 47, note 1.\">14<\/a><\/sup> But the court interpreted it as a subtle hint: their affair had almost run its course. Impulsively and against the King\u2019s orders, the heavily pregnant De La Valli\u00e8re travelled after her lover on her own initiative, much to the irritation of Maria Theresia. The queen was so distraught upon her arrival that Louis XIV\u2019s niece Anne-Marie-Louise d\u2019Orl\u00e9ans, better known as Mademoiselle de Montpensier (1627-1693), wrote about the event in her memoirs: \u2018<em>Je trouvai la reine qui pleuroit, qui avoit vomi, qui se trouvoit mal<\/em>.\u2019<sup><a href=\"#footnote_15_5116\" id=\"identifier_15_5116\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-identifier-link\" title=\"Ch&eacute;ruel 1859: 49; Fraser 2007: 134-137.\">15<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1614\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-15.-Louise-de-La-Valliere_Rijksmuseum_RP-P-1948-10_juiste_resize-1614x2000.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5101\" srcset=\"https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-15.-Louise-de-La-Valliere_Rijksmuseum_RP-P-1948-10_juiste_resize-1614x2000.jpeg 1614w, https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-15.-Louise-de-La-Valliere_Rijksmuseum_RP-P-1948-10_juiste_resize-968x1200.jpeg 968w, https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-15.-Louise-de-La-Valliere_Rijksmuseum_RP-P-1948-10_juiste_resize-768x952.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-15.-Louise-de-La-Valliere_Rijksmuseum_RP-P-1948-10_juiste_resize-1239x1536.jpeg 1239w, https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-15.-Louise-de-La-Valliere_Rijksmuseum_RP-P-1948-10_juiste_resize-1653x2048.jpeg 1653w, https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-15.-Louise-de-La-Valliere_Rijksmuseum_RP-P-1948-10_juiste_resize.jpeg 1839w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1614px) 100vw, 1614px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Nicolas de Larmessin I<em>, Portrait of Louise-Fran\u00e7oise de La Baume Le Blanc de La Valli\u00e8re<\/em>, 1667-1674. Engraving, 413 x 338 mm.\r\nAmsterdam, Rijksmuseum<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yet, it was during that very campaign that Louise de La Valli\u00e8re lost her privileged position. The king became increasingly interested in the beautiful, flamboyant, lover of art Fran\u00e7oise-Ath\u00e9na\u00efs de Rochechouart-Mortemart, Marquise de Montespan (1641-1707).<sup><a href=\"#footnote_16_5116\" id=\"identifier_16_5116\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-identifier-link\" title=\"Ch&eacute;ruel 1859: 490; Fraser 2007: 124-133, 200.\">16<\/a><\/sup> After her impoverished husband had opted for a military career and left her with two young children, she set her sights on a career as a lady-in-waiting to Maria Theresia; the two women got on famously. The next step was to win over the king and she succeeded in this endeavour during the campaign of 1667. According to Mademoiselle de Montpensier, she stayed in one of the rooms \u2018<em>qui \u00e9toient proche de la chambre du roi<\/em>\u2019 and he often saw the marquise \u2018<em>\u00e0 ce que l\u2019on disoit, \u00e0 sa chambre<\/em>.\u2019<sup><a href=\"#footnote_17_5116\" id=\"identifier_17_5116\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-identifier-link\" title=\"Ch&eacute;ruel 1859: 50, 52.\">17<\/a><\/sup> She also recalled the predicament she suddenly found herself in when, at one of the dinners, the queen complained about the fact that the king did not go to sleep until four in the morning and asked her \u2018<em>\u00e0 quoi il peut s\u2019amuser<\/em>.\u2019 The king defended himself \u2013 rather feebly \u2013 by saying that he had been going through the mail and answering letters. \u2018<em>Il sourit, et pour qu\u2019elle ne le v\u00eet pas, tournoit la t\u00eate de mon cot\u00e9. <\/em><em>J\u2019avois bien envie d\u2019en faire autant; mais je ne levai pas les yeux de dessus mon assiette.<\/em>\u2019<sup><a href=\"#footnote_18_5116\" id=\"identifier_18_5116\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-identifier-link\" title=\"Ch&eacute;ruel 1859: 52.\">18<\/a><\/sup> There was another uncomfortable evening worth mentioning in early August. The queen started talking about a letter she had received in the presence of the Marquise de Montespan (!): \u2018<em>J\u2019ai re\u00e7u hier une lettre qui m\u2019apprend bien des [choses], mais que je ne crois pas. On me donne avis que le roi est amoureux de Madame de Montespan et qu\u2019il n\u2019aimoit plus La Valli\u00e8re<\/em>.\u2019<sup><a href=\"#footnote_19_5116\" id=\"identifier_19_5116\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-identifier-link\" title=\"Ch&eacute;ruel 1859: 58.\">19<\/a><\/sup> The naive Maria Theresia ignored the advice and continued to believe, unjustly, in the innocence of her renegade lady-in-waiting. The facial features of the lady on the right in the carriage in Van der Meulen\u2019s painting in The Phoebus Foundation\u2019s collection \u2013 such as her round face, arched eyebrows and large eyes \u2013 are extremely similar to those in surviving portraits of the Marquise de Montespan, such as the one from Pierre de Mignard\u2019s studio dating back to the last quarter of the seventeenth century. It is no coincidence that the lady who can be identified as Louise de La Valli\u00e8re is looking (angrily or wistfully perhaps?) at her successor.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In her memoirs, Mademoiselle de Montpensier recounts that the king, after Louise de La Valli\u00e8re\u2019s unexpected arrival at the front, ordered that she and the queen go to church in the same carriage in an attempt to calm the tension between the two ladies. \u2018<em>Le lendemain elle [Madame de La Valli\u00e8re] vint \u00e0 la messe avec la reine; quoique le carosse f\u00fbt plein, on se pressa pour lui faire place, et elle dina avec la reine<\/em>.\u2019<sup><a href=\"#footnote_20_5116\" id=\"identifier_20_5116\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-identifier-link\" title=\"Ch&eacute;ruel 1859: 50; Fraser 2007: 136.\">20<\/a><\/sup> This probably took place in Avesnes between 9 and 14 June 1667. It is also likely that the Marquise de Montespan, as Maria Theresia\u2019s lady-in-waiting, would have done the same on several occasions. Yet it is unclear whether the three love rivals actually shared a carriage during the official entry in Douai. This is not so important in itself, because what really counts is that the main characters involved in the royal love saga can be identified. As in his battle scenes \u2013 and similar to other battle painters \u2013 Van der Meulen always depicted the topographical setting with great accuracy, but sometimes he brought together events that took place at different times in the same painting.<sup><a href=\"#footnote_21_5116\" id=\"identifier_21_5116\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-identifier-link\" title=\"De Vries 1990: 135.\">21<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"669\" height=\"864\" src=\"https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.-16.-Montespan_Musee-versailles-Montespan-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5105\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pierre de Mignard, dit le Romain (studio), <em>Portrait of Fran\u00e7oise-Ath\u00e9na\u00efs de Rochechouart-Mortemart, Marquise Montespan<\/em>, 1676-1700. Oil on canvas, 114,5 x 88,9 cm.\r\nVersailles, Mus\u00e9es de Versailles\r\n\u00a9 RMN&nbsp; &#8211; Grand Palais<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Who for?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is not known for whom Van der Meulen produced The Phoebus Foundation\u2019s fascinating painting.<sup><a href=\"#footnote_22_5116\" id=\"identifier_22_5116\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-identifier-link\" title=\"The painting&rsquo;s provenance only dates back to 1968.\">22<\/a><\/sup> However, it must have been intended for someone at court, who would immediately recognise the portraits of the king, his generals and the ladies in the carriage, and who could recount the juicy stories right down to the last detail. Perhaps Van der Meulen painted it for Mademoiselle de Montpensier. As her memoirs reveal, she knew the intrigues of the court like no other. Moreover, she was very fond of Van der Meulen. She became his son Louis\u2019 godmother in 1669 and ordered smaller versions of almost all the paintings he produced for the king \u2013 including the modelli for <em>L\u2019Histoire du roi<\/em> \u2013 to decorate her country house near Choisy. In her memoirs, she wrote:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2018<em>Le Petit Cabinet est orn\u00e9 de conqu\u00eates du roi peintes par Van der Meulen, un des plus habiles peintres de ces mani\u00e8res. Les si\u00e8ges, les combats, les occasions y sont \u00e9crites, afin que l\u2019on sache ce que c\u2019est. On y conna\u00eet le roi partout, il est fort bien peint, il est sur la chemin\u00e9e \u00e0 cheval. Il n\u2019y a rien \u00e0 dire sinon que le Cabinet est trop petit, il y aurait encore bien des actions \u00e0 y ajouter; je trouverai des places ailleurs pour avoir la joie de voir les grandes actions qu\u2019il a faites, et qu\u2019il continuera \u00e0 faire.<\/em>\u2019<sup><a href=\"#footnote_23_5116\" id=\"identifier_23_5116\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-identifier-link\" title=\"Richefort 2004: 124-130, quotation on p. 127.\">23<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The inventory of the estate of Anne de Souvr\u00e9, the Marquise of Louvois, who later acquired the residence, mentioned that it still housed twenty paintings by Van der Meulen in 1715, including \u2018<em>La ville de Douai<\/em>\u2019. It is currently impossible to prove with certainty whether it is the siege, or the entry in the city, or whether it is the version in The Phoebus Foundation\u2019s collection. But one thing we can be sure of is that Mademoiselle de Montpensier would have delighted in the lively portraits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1611\" src=\"https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.1-1-2000x1611.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5108\" srcset=\"https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.1-1-2000x1611.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.1-1-1200x967.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.1-1-768x619.jpg 768w, https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.1-1-1536x1237.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/afb.1-1-2048x1650.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Adam Frans Van der Meulen, <em>Entry of Louis XIV and Maria Theresia in Douai in 1667<\/em>, after 1667. Oil on canvas, 65.5 x 82 cm.\r\nAntwerp, The Phoebus Foundation<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Details create the bigger picture<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In autumn 1667, Louise de La Valli\u00e8re gave birth to Louis XIV\u2019s fourth child in Paris. She left the court and became a nun. Marquise de Montespan continued to be the king\u2019s official mistress for another fifteen years and bore him six children. She enjoyed the attention and her privileged position until she herself was toppled from her dubious throne by Fran\u00e7oise d\u2019Aubign\u00e9, Marquise de Maintenon in 1682. Maria Theresia remained queen until her sudden death in 1683. On her deathbed, she is reported to have said that she had only been happy for one day since her marriage.<sup><a href=\"#footnote_24_5116\" id=\"identifier_24_5116\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-identifier-link\" title=\"&lsquo;Depuis que je suis Reine, je n&rsquo;ai eu qu&rsquo;un seul jour heureux.&rsquo; Fragmens de lettres originales De Madame Charlotte-Elizabeth de Bavi&egrave;re, Veuve de Monsieur, Fr&egrave;re unique de Louis XIV, Ecrites &agrave; S.A.S. Monseigneur le Duc Antoine-Ulric de B** W****, &amp; &agrave; S.A.R. Madame la Princesse de Galles, Caroline, n&eacute;e Princesse d&rsquo;Anspach, 1, Hamburg, 1788: 15.\">24<\/a><\/sup> She did not specify which day she meant. It was probably not 23 July 1667. During that hot summer, her husband conquered major cities that were part of her father\u2019s empire and she was painfully reminded of her unhappy marriage. Her husband\u2019s pregnant mistress, <em>ma\u00eetresse en titre<\/em> Louise de La Valli\u00e8re, had the audacity to join the military campaign uninvited, in which she was afforded a prominent role through entries as the French queen and Spanish heiress. Her beloved lady-in-waiting, the Marquise de Montespan, also betrayed her shamelessly by secretly sharing her bed with the king at the time. Adam Frans Van der Meulen subtly incorporated all this drama into his intriguing version of the French royal couple\u2019s entry in Douai in The Phoebus Foundation\u2019s collection. The master conveys his skill in the smallest of details. Because if you look closely and are privy to the rumours, he makes it perfectly clear that during the military campaign of 1667, it was not only the French troops who were fighting for the Spanish Netherlands, but also the three ladies in the carriage who were fighting for the Sun King\u2019s heart.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:100px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-content-justification-right is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-2b4002ad wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>How to cite this item? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">L. Kelchtermans, \u2018Military Triumph and Mistresses\u2019, <em>Phoebus Findings<\/em>, https:\/\/phoebusfoundation.org\/phoebus_findings\/3\/, accessed on [dd.mm.yyyy].<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">All rights reserved. No part of this <em>Phoebus Finding<\/em> may be reproduced, stored in an information storage and retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, including copying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission in writing from The Phoebus Foundation. If you have comments or want to make use of our images, we\u2019d like to hear from you. Contact us at: <a href=\"mailto:info@phoebusfoundation.org\">info@phoebusfoundation.org<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"footnotes_wrapper\"><h2 id=\"footnotes_title\">Footnotes<\/h2><\/div><ol class=\"footnotes\"><li id=\"footnote_1_5116\" class=\"footnote\">P.A. Plouvain, <em>Souvenirs \u00e0 l\u2019usage des habitans de Douai ou Notes pour servir \u00e0 l\u2019histoire de cette ville, jusques et inclus l\u2019ann\u00e9e 1821<\/em>, Douai, 1822: 386-387. I. Richefort, <em>Adam-Fran\u00e7ois Van der Meulen (1632-1690). Peintre flamand au service de Louis XIV<\/em>, Antwerp, 2004: 224 mentions 30 August 1667. Sometimes 4 or 23 August 1667 is also mentioned, as in the online databases of the Mus\u00e9e du Louvre and the Ch\u00e2teau de Versailles. See https:\/\/collections.louvre.fr\/en\/ark:\/53355\/cl010237037, [consulted on 06.02.2022]; http:\/\/collections.chateauversailles.fr\/#b3e9466e-c935-49a3-bc84-4976792fc90f, [consulted on 06.02.2022].<span class=\"footnote-back-link-wrapper\">[<a href=\"#identifier_1_5116\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-back-link\">&#8617;<\/a>]<\/span><\/li><li id=\"footnote_2_5116\" class=\"footnote\">F. Lauwaerts, <em>Het slagveld van Europa. <\/em><em>De rol van de Spaanse Nederlanden in de internationale politiek van Engeland (1665-1668)<\/em>, master\u2019s thesis, UGent, 2015-2016: 98-140.<span class=\"footnote-back-link-wrapper\">[<a href=\"#identifier_2_5116\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-back-link\">&#8617;<\/a>]<\/span><\/li><li id=\"footnote_3_5116\" class=\"footnote\">Richefort 2004: 224-225.<span class=\"footnote-back-link-wrapper\">[<a href=\"#identifier_3_5116\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-back-link\">&#8617;<\/a>]<\/span><\/li><li id=\"footnote_4_5116\" class=\"footnote\">S. De Vries, \u2018Adam-Frans van der Meulen (1632-1690), hofschilder van Lodewijk XIV, in de Republiek: 1672-1673\u2019, <em>Jaarboek Monumentenzorg<\/em> (1990): 134-147; Richefort 2004; R. Wellington, \u2018The Cartographic Origins of Adam Frans van der Meulen\u2019s Marly Cycle\u2019, <em>Print Quarterly<\/em>, 28, 2 (2011): 142-154, especially 144-145; L. Kelchtermans, <em>Geschilderde gevechten<\/em>, <em>gekleurde verslagen. Een contextuele analyse van Peter Snayers\u2019 (1592-1667) topografische strijdtaferelen voor de Habsburgse elite tussen herinnering en verheerlijking<\/em>, 1, doctoral thesis, KU Leuven, 2013: 44. See also L. Starcky, <em>Dessins de Van der Meulen et de son atelier<\/em>, mus. cat., Paris, Mobilier national, 1988; <em>\u00c0 la gloire du roi: Van der Meulen, peintre des conqu\u00eates de Louis XIV<\/em>, exh. cat., Dijon, Mus\u00e9e des beaux-arts de Dijon, Luxemburg, Mus\u00e9e d\u2019histoire de la ville de Luxembourg, 1998.<span class=\"footnote-back-link-wrapper\">[<a href=\"#identifier_4_5116\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-back-link\">&#8617;<\/a>]<\/span><\/li><li id=\"footnote_5_5116\" class=\"footnote\">Richefort 2004: 73-83; J. Vittet, \u2018[History of the King, cat. nos. 41-47]\u2019, in: T.P. Campbell (ed.), <em>Tapestry in the Baroque: Threads of Splendor<\/em>, exh. cat., New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Madrid, Palacio Real, 2007: 374-389, especially 374-384.<span class=\"footnote-back-link-wrapper\">[<a href=\"#identifier_5_5116\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-back-link\">&#8617;<\/a>]<\/span><\/li><li id=\"footnote_6_5116\" class=\"footnote\"> For this drawing (inv. 27633), see https:\/\/collections.louvre.fr\/en\/ark:\/53355\/cl020213469, [consulted on 06.02.2022]. There is also another profile drawing of Douai that Van der Meulen produced in situ. Its viewpoint differs slightly from that of the painted versions. In the foreground, the figures are rendered very sketchy. The drawing is kept in the collection of the Mobilier national in Paris (inv. NO-90-000, paper, 410 x 230 mm), see https:\/\/collection.mobiliernational.culture.gouv.fr\/objet\/NO-90-000, [consulted on 06.02.2022].<span class=\"footnote-back-link-wrapper\">[<a href=\"#identifier_6_5116\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-back-link\">&#8617;<\/a>]<\/span><\/li><li id=\"footnote_7_5116\" class=\"footnote\">In total, Van der Meulen produced eight modelli for <em>L\u2019Histoire du Roi<\/em>, including those depicting the sieges of Tournai and Douai. For the modello in the Mus\u00e9e du Louvre (inv. MV 5906), see https:\/\/collections.louvre.fr\/en\/ark:\/53355\/cl010237037, [consulted on 06.02.2022]; http:\/\/collections.chateauversailles.fr\/#b3e9466e-c935-49a3-bc84-4976792fc90f, [consulted on 06.02.2022]; Richefort 2004: 79, 81, 224-225 (as a collaboration between Van der Meulen and Le Brun).<span class=\"footnote-back-link-wrapper\">[<a href=\"#identifier_7_5116\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-back-link\">&#8617;<\/a>]<\/span><\/li><li id=\"footnote_8_5116\" class=\"footnote\">The cartoon is part of the collection of the Ch\u00e2teau de Versailles (inv. MV 2078), see http:\/\/collections.chateauversailles.fr\/#29735b40-d543-4079-ad98-2b0aad966c53, [consulted on 06.02.2022].<span class=\"footnote-back-link-wrapper\">[<a href=\"#identifier_8_5116\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-back-link\">&#8617;<\/a>]<\/span><\/li><li id=\"footnote_9_5116\" class=\"footnote\">For the version in the Mus\u00e9e de la Chartreuse (inv. 238, oil on canvas, 74 x 92 cm), see https:\/\/webmuseo.com\/ws\/musenor\/app\/collection\/record\/1393?vc=ePkH4LF7w6yelGA1CLiigvsIZ-I0NYZWj0QmJH3iUiY8m2FWvEaWBmg1tKEpenVPlC4TjEYCInMTymfQ_B2WmKcAqgB8U0uBIQg2DxbJALJTc08$, [consulted on 06.02.2022]. A very similar version was auctioned at Dorotheum on 12.05.2022 (lot 288, as the circle of Adam Frans Van der Meulen, oil on canvas, 65 x 82 cm). With thanks to Niels Schalley.<span class=\"footnote-back-link-wrapper\">[<a href=\"#identifier_9_5116\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-back-link\">&#8617;<\/a>]<\/span><\/li><li id=\"footnote_10_5116\" class=\"footnote\">A visual analysis and an infrared reflectography image of the portraits on the canvas show that they are authentic and not overpainted or worked on at a later date. With thanks to Sven Van Dorst and Adri Verburg.<span class=\"footnote-back-link-wrapper\">[<a href=\"#identifier_10_5116\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-back-link\">&#8617;<\/a>]<\/span><\/li><li id=\"footnote_11_5116\" class=\"footnote\">J.J.E. Roy, <em>Histoire de Vauban<\/em>, Lille, 1850: 40-41.<span class=\"footnote-back-link-wrapper\">[<a href=\"#identifier_11_5116\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-back-link\">&#8617;<\/a>]<\/span><\/li><li id=\"footnote_12_5116\" class=\"footnote\">J. Lair, Louise de la Valli\u00e8re et la jeunesse de Louis XIV d\u2019apr\u00e8s des documents in\u00e9dits, Paris, 1881: especially 173-182; C. Hanken, \u2018De koning en de dame. Over de ontwikkeling van de functie van de koninklijke ma\u00eetresse in Frankrijk (1444-1774)\u2019, Amsterdams Sociologisch Tijdschrift, 19, 4 (1993): 70-78; A. Fraser, Love and Louis XIV. The Women in the Life of The Sun King, London, 2007: 67, 80, 84-97, 101-105.<span class=\"footnote-back-link-wrapper\">[<a href=\"#identifier_12_5116\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-back-link\">&#8617;<\/a>]<\/span><\/li><li id=\"footnote_13_5116\" class=\"footnote\">Hanken 1993: 79-84.<span class=\"footnote-back-link-wrapper\">[<a href=\"#identifier_13_5116\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-back-link\">&#8617;<\/a>]<\/span><\/li><li id=\"footnote_14_5116\" class=\"footnote\">A. Ch\u00e9ruel, <em>M\u00e9moires de M<sup>lle<\/sup> de Montpensier, petite-fille de Henri IV, collationn\u00e9s sur le manuscrit autographe avec notes biographiques et historiques<\/em>, 4, Paris, 1859: 47, note 1.<span class=\"footnote-back-link-wrapper\">[<a href=\"#identifier_14_5116\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-back-link\">&#8617;<\/a>]<\/span><\/li><li id=\"footnote_15_5116\" class=\"footnote\">Ch\u00e9ruel 1859: 49; Fraser 2007: 134-137.<span class=\"footnote-back-link-wrapper\">[<a href=\"#identifier_15_5116\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-back-link\">&#8617;<\/a>]<\/span><\/li><li id=\"footnote_16_5116\" class=\"footnote\"> Ch\u00e9ruel 1859: 490; Fraser 2007: 124-133, 200.<span class=\"footnote-back-link-wrapper\">[<a href=\"#identifier_16_5116\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-back-link\">&#8617;<\/a>]<\/span><\/li><li id=\"footnote_17_5116\" class=\"footnote\">Ch\u00e9ruel 1859: 50, 52.<span class=\"footnote-back-link-wrapper\">[<a href=\"#identifier_17_5116\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-back-link\">&#8617;<\/a>]<\/span><\/li><li id=\"footnote_18_5116\" class=\"footnote\">Ch\u00e9ruel 1859: 52.<span class=\"footnote-back-link-wrapper\">[<a href=\"#identifier_18_5116\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-back-link\">&#8617;<\/a>]<\/span><\/li><li id=\"footnote_19_5116\" class=\"footnote\">Ch\u00e9ruel 1859: 58.<span class=\"footnote-back-link-wrapper\">[<a href=\"#identifier_19_5116\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-back-link\">&#8617;<\/a>]<\/span><\/li><li id=\"footnote_20_5116\" class=\"footnote\">Ch\u00e9ruel 1859: 50; Fraser 2007: 136.<span class=\"footnote-back-link-wrapper\">[<a href=\"#identifier_20_5116\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-back-link\">&#8617;<\/a>]<\/span><\/li><li id=\"footnote_21_5116\" class=\"footnote\">De Vries 1990: 135.<span class=\"footnote-back-link-wrapper\">[<a href=\"#identifier_21_5116\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-back-link\">&#8617;<\/a>]<\/span><\/li><li id=\"footnote_22_5116\" class=\"footnote\">The painting\u2019s provenance only dates back to 1968.<span class=\"footnote-back-link-wrapper\">[<a href=\"#identifier_22_5116\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-back-link\">&#8617;<\/a>]<\/span><\/li><li id=\"footnote_23_5116\" class=\"footnote\">Richefort 2004: 124-130, quotation on p. 127.<span class=\"footnote-back-link-wrapper\">[<a href=\"#identifier_23_5116\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-back-link\">&#8617;<\/a>]<\/span><\/li><li id=\"footnote_24_5116\" class=\"footnote\">\u2018Depuis que je suis Reine, je n\u2019ai eu qu\u2019un seul jour heureux.\u2019 <em>Fragmens de lettres originales De Madame Charlotte-Elizabeth de Bavi\u00e8re, Veuve de Monsieur, Fr\u00e8re unique de Louis XIV, Ecrites \u00e0 S.A.S. Monseigneur le Duc Antoine-Ulric de B** W****, &amp; \u00e0 S.A.R. Madame la Princesse de Galles, Caroline, n\u00e9e Princesse d\u2019Anspach<\/em>, 1, Hamburg, 1788: 15.<span class=\"footnote-back-link-wrapper\">[<a href=\"#identifier_24_5116\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-back-link\">&#8617;<\/a>]<\/span><\/li><\/ol>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Brussels painter Adam Frans Van der Meulen (1632-1690) created quite a furore at the court of the French King Louis XIV (1638-1715). He immortalised his military triumphs, embellished with the necessary pomp and bravado, as he did the royal couple\u2019s entry in Douai, Northern France, in 1667.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":5114,"template":"","soort_artikel":[],"class_list":["post-5116","phoebus_findings","type-phoebus_findings","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Military Triumph and Mistresses - The Phoebus Foundation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Brussels painter Adam Frans Van der Meulen (1632-1690) created quite a furore at the court of the French King Louis XIV (1638-1715). 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