Hunting at Champs Castle, by Jean-Baptiste Martin

Jean-Baptiste Martin, nicknamed "Martin des batailles" or "Martin des Gobelins", was the king's painter and director of the Gobelins manufactory, specialising in battle scenes.

Many of his paintings are kept at Versailles and depict royal victories. Martin also painted views of the park at Versailles and some fanciful landscapes preserved at Trianon.

The artist studied with the mathematician Philippe de La Hyre, then took up the art of fortifications as a draughtsman with Vauban. Vauban recommended him to Louis XIV, who asked him to collaborate with Adam François van der Meulen, the king's first painter of conquests, whom he succeeded on his death (1690). From 1688 onwards, he followed the king's battles, notably accompanying the Dauphin to the battlefields in 1688 and 1689, and later Louis XIV. Appointed director of the royal Gobelins factory, he produced decorative paintings for Versailles and numerous royal residences such as Marly.

The painter did not only work for the king, but also for wealthy patrons who wanted one or more equestrian portraits, often in a broader context reflecting the importance of the social rite of hunting. Jean-Baptiste Martin's work differs from that of his master in that he revives the topographical views of the first half of the century, both in his battle paintings and in his hunting scenes. In this painting of a hunt, one of these famous topographical views can be seen in the background, here depicting the Château de Champs and its vast estate. The figures are not very detailed: the strokes of light, the clothes along the backs of the dogs in full run or on the hats of the riders, enliven the whole scene in an almost dreamlike way and have a powerful decorative effect.

Bertrand Fonck, "Peindre la guerre, 1688-1715. Réflexions sur la représentation des dernières guerres de Louis XIV", Les dernières guerres de Louis XIV : 1688-1715 [online]. Rennes, Presses universitaires de Rennes, 2017.