Before Le Brun left for Rome with Poussin in 1642, he executed this design for a print to adorn the theological thesis of Jean Ruze d'Effiat, who would be appointed the abbot of Mont-Saint-Michel that year. The grand format necessitated several sheets of paper joined together. The Metropolitan Museum of Art houses a sheet that corresponds to the lower portion of the print (inv. 1974.106). In the segment shown in the Morgan drawing, a caryatid, a symbol of peace and abundance, supports the architectural surround. The Metropolitan Museum drawing depicts the lower portion of the composition, in which the figures of Mars and Apollo flank a ship's prow that bears a coat of arms with a shield and ducal crown surmounted by a cardinal's hat--a reference to Cardinal Richelieu, to whom d'Effiat dedicated his thesis.
Inscribed at upper right within cartouche, "ILLUSTRI" (cut off); on verso, "CR 25" (canceled), "BP 70", and "filigrane".
Watermark: Fleur-de-lis in shield surmounted by crown, letters in cartouche below. Watermark is placed across chain lines.
Dhikeos, Nikos, former owner.
Janet, Christophe, former owner.
Wrightsman, Jayne, donor.
Denison, Cara D. French Master Drawings in the Pierpont Morgan Library. New York : Pierpont Morgan Library, 1993, no. 29, repr.