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1 of 253523 objects
The French Army Encamped before Tournai, 1667 1667-90
Oil on canvas | 154.6 x 258.2 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external) | RCIN 403937
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This is a pastiche of inferior quality based on elements from Van der Meulen's compositions. It shows the French army camped outside Tournai during its four-day attack on the town in June, 1667. In the foreground, horses can be seen bringing in supplies. Cavalrymen, mounted and on foot, people the composition, some sitting around barrels eating and playing cards, others grooming horses. In the middle distance, rows of tents in sit in neat formation while a building burns nearby. The walled city of Tournai can be seen on the horizon. Puffs of smoke rising from the buildings are the only indication that the town is under attack.
The siege on Tournai was part of the War of Devolution waged by Louis XIV against the Hapsburg-controlled Spanish Netherlands in 1667-68. On her marriage to Louis XIV, the daughter of the King of Spain, Maria Theresa agreed to renounce her right to her father's lands on condition that a dowry was paid. The dowry was never paid and, on the death of Philip IV in 1665, Louis XIV argued that the Spanish Netherlands should automatically devolve to him. Having sought the approval of French legal scholars, French forces eventually crossed the border into the Spanish Netherlands on 24 May 1667. Van der Meulen accompanied the army and the royal entourage, charged with the task of depicting Louis XIV's victories in the region. George IV acquired another depiction of this siege by an imitator of Van der Meulen (RCIN 405057).Provenance
First recorded at Kensington Palace in 1818
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Creator(s)
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Medium and techniques
Oil on canvas
Measurements
154.6 x 258.2 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external)
170.8 x 274.7 x 6.0 cm (frame, external)
Category
Object type(s)
Alternative title(s)
Louis XIV at the seige of Tournai, June 1667