Lot Essay
Preparatory drawing for the figure of Rindaldo in Rinaldo and Armida, at Basildon Park. This painting together with its' pendant The Abduction of Europa were owned by the Duke of Montagu, British Ambassador to the French court from 1676 to 1699, and are recorded in the 1709 inventory as hanging in the Duke's bedroom in Montagu House, London.
The Duke of Montagu, reknowned for his patronage of the arts, most probably met the artist during one of his trips to France and it was to La Fosse, together with Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer that he turned when decorating his own sumptuous palace, Montagu House, in London. La Fosse made a short visit to London in 1688-9 and completed most of the commissions from 1690 to 1692. Montagu House was greatly admired at the time and described by Colsoni in the 1693 Guide de Londres as 'the most beautiful and richest of England as much because of its' placement and great order as for its admirable architecture and the rare paintings which delight both the eye and the spirit'. La Fosse's contribution attracted the attention of the new monarch, William III, who, according to the Mémoires inédits and notebooks of George Vertue, invited La Fosse to work at Hampton Court and offered him the position of First Painter to the King. La Fosse was, however, called back to France by Jules-Hardouin Mansart, Surintendant des Bâtiments, to decorate the Invalides, one of the last great artistic commissions of the reign of Louis XIV.
It would seem that the Rinaldo and Armida, long known erroneously as Mars and Venus, was painted in France before La Fosse's departure to England. Its' true iconography was deliberately masked by the artist who matched it with a new pendant of The Abduction of Europa. The pair thereby seemed to accord with the predominantly Ovidian decorative program prevalent in the rest of the Montagu House decorations.
These paintings and the present drawing are amongst the few vestiges that remain of La Fosse's work during his English period. In the 19th Century, Montagu house became the home of the first British Museum. The growth of its' collections, however, led to its eventual destruction and the construction of the present museum. The majority of La Fosse's decorative work was therefore dispersed or lost with only a few drawings, the paintings of Rinaldo and Armida and the Rape of Europa, and a series of decorative panels at Boughton House surviving.
The present study is a rare drawing by the artist on blue paper, revealing the influence of Louis de Boullogne, brother of La Fosse's close friend, Bon de Boullogne. No other preparatory drawings for the Rinaldo and Armida are known although this study can be compared to a slightly later drawing in red and black chalk, preparatory for the reclining woman in The Abduction of Europa, in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Lyon
The Duke of Montagu, reknowned for his patronage of the arts, most probably met the artist during one of his trips to France and it was to La Fosse, together with Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer that he turned when decorating his own sumptuous palace, Montagu House, in London. La Fosse made a short visit to London in 1688-9 and completed most of the commissions from 1690 to 1692. Montagu House was greatly admired at the time and described by Colsoni in the 1693 Guide de Londres as 'the most beautiful and richest of England as much because of its' placement and great order as for its admirable architecture and the rare paintings which delight both the eye and the spirit'. La Fosse's contribution attracted the attention of the new monarch, William III, who, according to the Mémoires inédits and notebooks of George Vertue, invited La Fosse to work at Hampton Court and offered him the position of First Painter to the King. La Fosse was, however, called back to France by Jules-Hardouin Mansart, Surintendant des Bâtiments, to decorate the Invalides, one of the last great artistic commissions of the reign of Louis XIV.
It would seem that the Rinaldo and Armida, long known erroneously as Mars and Venus, was painted in France before La Fosse's departure to England. Its' true iconography was deliberately masked by the artist who matched it with a new pendant of The Abduction of Europa. The pair thereby seemed to accord with the predominantly Ovidian decorative program prevalent in the rest of the Montagu House decorations.
These paintings and the present drawing are amongst the few vestiges that remain of La Fosse's work during his English period. In the 19th Century, Montagu house became the home of the first British Museum. The growth of its' collections, however, led to its eventual destruction and the construction of the present museum. The majority of La Fosse's decorative work was therefore dispersed or lost with only a few drawings, the paintings of Rinaldo and Armida and the Rape of Europa, and a series of decorative panels at Boughton House surviving.
The present study is a rare drawing by the artist on blue paper, revealing the influence of Louis de Boullogne, brother of La Fosse's close friend, Bon de Boullogne. No other preparatory drawings for the Rinaldo and Armida are known although this study can be compared to a slightly later drawing in red and black chalk, preparatory for the reclining woman in The Abduction of Europa, in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Lyon