Watermark: none visible through lining.
For many years this scene was described as a Roman feast and attributed to Noel Coypel, the director of the French Royal Academy. Francois Marandet recently proposed a convincing attribution to Coypel's contemporary, the lesser known Guy-Louis Vernansal (1648-1729). He connected the scene to a painting of Passover by Vernansal in a private collection. Marandet proposes a date of ca. 1710-15 for the painting and drawing. At this depiction of the first Passover, the sacrificial lamb is brought to the table at right as the liberated Israelites gather for the meal to mark the initial night of the Exodus and celebrate their freedom. This extensively worked sheet, full of pentimenti and with a carefully ruled floor, documents Vernansal's efforts to develop the composition.
Inscribed in pencil at lower left, "Coypel"; on back of old mount, in pen and brown ink, above center, "H/No 39" (canceled), and at lower right, "No 53".
Murray, Charles Fairfax, 1849-1919, former owner.
Morgan, J. Pierpont (John Pierpont), 1837-1913, former owner.
Spencer, Earl, former owner.
Denison, Cara D. French Drawings, 1550-1825. New York : Pierpont Morgan Library, 1984, no. 30 (as Romans at a Feast).
Denison, Cara D. French Master Drawings in the Pierpont Morgan Library. New York : Pierpont Morgan Library, 1993, no. 32, repr. (as The First Passover).