Michel-Ange Houasse

This curious drawing languished among the anonymous drawings until 2023 when Francois Marandet identified it as the work of Houasse, who served as court painter to Philip V of Spain. The king continued the traditions of the chivalric order of the golden fleece, which led to the proper identification of the subject as a moment in the order's ritual. While a painted version of the composition by Houasse is not known, a signed and dated copy by Jacques Laumosnier, an obscure member of the Academie de St. Luc, was identified by Marandet in the collection of the Musee de Tesse, Le Mans. According to Marandet, the scene is set in the Palacio Real, Madrid, and the Morgan drawing may be the only surviving evidence for a series celebrating the History of Philip V.