“Le peintre de Breda”. Notes on Ferdinand van Kessel’s paintings for John III Sobieski

The article presents the hitherto unknown details of the commission which the Flemish painter Ferdinand van Kessel received from John III Sobieski, the king of Poland, based on previously unpublished letters of Antoine Moreau, Polish ambassador to the Hague, preserved in the British Library in London (Townshend Papers, Add MS 38493). Moreau was a royal agent in the Netherlands and resided in the Hague from 1685-92, from where he sent to the Polish king detailed reports concerning the current political situation and diplomatic affairs. Moreover, Antoine Moreau's correspondence is an invaluable source for Sobieski's art patronage and commissions. His letters help us trace and examine Moreau's participation, as the royal agent, in the import of artworks, mention some goods bought for the king, and reveal details concerning shipments of paintings and art objects sent from the Netherlands. Until now, all information about Ferdinand Kessel's paintings made for the Wilanów Palace originated from a book published in 1729 by one of Kessel's pupils, Jacob Campo Weyerman. Ferdinand van Kessel, a painter from Breda, was mentioned in Moreau's correspondence in connection with a royal commission and shipment of several paintings sent through the port of Danzig for the royal residence in Wilanów. The letter written by Moreau to Sobieski in August 1687, in particular, includes a note listing paintings intended for Sobieski that included Afrique belonging to Kessel's The Four Parts of the World series; crate with several Kessel's painting was sent to the king at that time. John III Sobieski had numerous other agents who assisted him in the acquisition and delivery of artworks and luxury objects. Two of them, Francesco Mollo and the Danzig postmaster Casper Richter, are particularly well known for their involvement in the royal commissions and import of artworks from the Netherlands through Danzig; since they cooperated with Antoine Moreau, they are also mentioned in his correspondence