This scene of an equestrian spectacle is a curious object. Originally intended as a fan design, the paper support was adhered to board and extended to form a rectangular scene. The event is set at Versailles in the marble courtyard with a view to the Grand Stables. The perspective is shifted to include key features of the setting.
A carousel was an event of elaborate horsemanship with spectacular costumes. Performances often carried a storyline and functioned as a form of equestrian ballet. This detailed gouache likely depicts the 1685 Carrousel of the Gallant Moors (Carousel des Galants Maures), one of the first major spectacles staged at Versailles by Louis XIV. The theme was derived from a Spanish sixteenth century epic recounting the civil wars in Granada between the Abencerages and the Zegris. Jean Berain designed the elaborate and costly costumes for the horses and riders, with richly patterned and colorful silks.
While no viable attribution has been proposed, the subject and execution place this scene akin to the fan designs of such artists as Jean Coltelle (1642-1708) and Jean Baptiste Martin the Elder (1659-1735). A similar painting, also intended for a fan, The pompous Carrousel des Galantes Amazons from the Four Parts of the World, attributed to Martin the Elder (now in the collection of the Chateau de Versailles; inv.DESS 836) depicts a carousel mounted in 1686.
Tully, Alice, 1902-1993, former owner.