(Brussels 1632–1690 Paris)
The solemn entry of Louis XIV, King of France and Queen Maria Theresa into Douai (1667),
oil on canvas, 65 x 82 cm, framed

The present work from an artist in the circle of Adam Frans van der Meulen, is a rich and varied image of narrative propaganda depicting an episode from the War of Devolution (1667–1678). The war began when the French King Louis XIV invaded and occupied much of the Spanish Netherlands, on an obscure legal pretext known as the Jus Devolutionis. The picture portrays the solemn entry of Maria Theresa in the centre, in a gilded carriage, with the notables of Douai kneeling as they handover the keys of the city to her, in a carefully stage-managed event that took place several months after the city’s actual surrender following a bloody siege. Van der Meulen records behind the gay throng the city’s Arras Gate and the belfry of its cathedral with remarkable accuracy, from preparatory drawings he made as eyewitness to the event. Van der Meulen’s original model (the commission was actually for a design for a tapestry to be woven by the Gobelins manufactory) still hangs at Versailles, while another version, with participation from his workshop, was sold at Artcurial, Paris, 16 June 2020, lot 260. 

A contemporary of the great Charles Le Brun, van der Meulen worked at the Versailles court of the ‘Sun King’ Louis XIV as peintre ordinaire de Roi, but also kept a studio in Paris, where the Dutchman Jan van Huchtenburg was among his pupils. He often travelled on campaign with the French King, and was noted for his expansive and highly accurate renderings of battles.