"Plan du camp sous Courtray au dela de la Lys le 18 Juillet 1744."

Drawing, 21,5 x 36 cm, pen and black ink, watercolour, laid paper (browned).

Framed (not studied outside frame).

Map of the French encampment at Kortrijk from 18 July 1744. Early work of L. Ch. Dupain de Montesson (ca. 1720 - ca. 1790), mostly known for his land surveyor's manuals, e.g., "L' Art De Lever Les Plans". Dupain de Montesson laid a standard to follow that has been maintained for decades. When, in May 1744, during the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-48), a French army invaded the Netherlands, Montesson was one of the lieutenant generals. He remained in Flanders until 1748.
Ref. L. Danckaert - Margaritae cartographicae, 2006, p. 169. - Nouvelle biogr. univers. xv:260. - Royal Collection Trust RCIN 729013.