Louis Laguerre (French 1663-1721)

Louis Laguerre (French 1663-1721)
Design for a staircase decoration with Aeneas and his family fleeing Troy, possibly for the staircase at Frogmore House, Windsor
Pen and brown ink, and grey wash heightened with white on blue paper
25 x 30.5cm; 9¾ x 12in
Unframed

Provenance:
Property of a former museum keeper, collected between the 1930s and 1970s

Louis Laguerre was probably commissioned to paint the staircase decoration at Frogmore House by the Duke of Northumberland, c.1709-1716. Aeneas fleeing Troy is one of three scenes from the Aeneid, and although there are differences between the present study and the final work, it is notable that in the other two scenes, Laguerre adhered closely to the engravings of Francis Cleyn. In this scene, however, he clearly wished to develop a new composition.