French school circa 1700 Parade in front of the Town Hall of Toulon with the Réale docked Pen and black ink, grey wash, over pencil lines on two assembled sheets (Tears and restorations) Parade in front of the city hall of Toulon, pen and black ink, grey wash, pencil, French School, ca. 1700 60.50 x 114 cm (23.82 x 44.88 in.) Comment: This sheet, the counterpart to the previous one, depicts a public ceremony, with an official coming out of the Toulon City Hall. Is it a governor of Provence? Officials and prelates are both on the balcony and on the esplanade. The fountain, with its large round basin resting on two embracing dolphins, seems unusual. Was it ever built? The most important ship at the quayside is once again the Réale, a royal galley amiral commissioned in 1694, a ship that is well documented and the subject of numerous representations. The richness of its stern ornament, traditionally attributed to Pierre Puget, is now the pride of the Musée National de la Marine in Paris, recently reopened after major works. Its fleur-de-lis hull, the tritons and the allegorical figures of Renommée make it easy to identify this jewel in the crown of Louis XIV's navy. This galley illustrates the maritime policy of the Sun King, brilliantly implemented by his minister Colbert, which can be summed up simply: to be present on every front! There was no question of leaving Venice and Genoa in control of the Mediterranean basin, which is why so much effort was put into building Toulon into a highly productive arsenal. Our drawings correspond to the golden age of Toulon. In the 17th century, the royal authorities took particular care to turn Toulon into a formidable arsenal, while at the same time developing the town into one of the most beautiful ports in the Mediterranean, as Joseph Vernet's view of the town and roadstead of Toulon (1756, Musée National de la Marine, Paris) shows.