Pierre Jacques Pennier (French, late 17th century) ‘Les Camps et Marches

further inscribed on the stone 'Levez [sic] sur les lieux & Dessine par le Sr. Pennier Geographe' l.r., and another, dated '1693' and with a more extensive inscription l.r., within a simulated frame border, bodycolour, (2), 31.5 x 46.5cm; 48 x 63.5cm; unframed, Pennier, who carried the title 'Ingénieur Géographe du Roy', worked in the service of Louis XIV during his expansionist and anti-Protestant campaigns in the Nine Years War, which began with the King's army crossing the Rhine in 1688 and were concentrated in the Spanish Netherlands and the Rhineland. Faced with the combined armies of the Grand Alliance, Louis was unable to secure victory and the war ended in stalemate; a settlement was reached, albeit temporarily, under the Peace of Ryswick in 1697. The drawing dated 1692 depicts the Siege of Namur under the command of the Duc de Luxembourg and Marshal Vauban, the assault ending in the stronghold's capitulation on 30 June. The companion drawing, dated 1693, appears to be a view of Charleroi, captured by the French forces under Luxembourg and Vauban on 10 October of that year. The Bibliothèque Nationale de France holds a collection of plans and drawings by Pennier of the same campaign, including one from 1694 worked up in gouache. Louis XIV’s campaigns in Flanders are recorded, more famously, in oil paintings by the artists Adam Frans van der Meulen, who died in 1690, and his pupil Jean-Baptiste Martin (1659-1725). The two drawings are clearly influenced by Van der Meulen’s compositions, often with the King and his generals prominent in an elevated foreground, and they were possibly intended as designs for tapestries. Much favoured by the King, van der Meulen was employed by Gobelins Manufactory, producing multiple designs for them, and was succeeded as Director by Martin. Condition Report, Condition Report, Both stuck down to the mounts by the edges. Time staining and foxing are visible across the images, with further foxing evident from the presence of marks on the reverse. Rubbing marks are visible across the images, particularly to the margins. Some browning and darkening of the pigments are also evident in places. Please refer to the condition images for further details. Request A Condition Report, Request A Condition Report

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