In the context of this artwork, discuss the Paris Salon (1781) of the Reception and ownership.
In his 1930 biographical study of the artist, art historian Richard Cantinelli noted that David began working on the Equestrian Portrait of Count Stanislas Potocki in Rome and departed for Paris on July 17, 1780. In Paris, he finished the painting and displayed it at the 1781 Salon. The exhibition was David's Salon debut and Potocki's portrait was shown alongside Belisarius Begging for Alms, Saint Roch Interceding with the Virgin for the Plague-Stricken,The Funeral Games of Patroclus, and a composition titled A Woman Suckling Her Child, all of which were praised by the French Enlightenment philosopher and prominent writer Denis Diderot. When discussing Potocki's portrait, Diderot singled out David's light color palette, which stood in contrast to history paintings completed by the artist during the same period.
[David] displays the grand manner in everything he does. He has soul, his heads have expression without affectation, his attitudes are noble and natural, he draws, he knows how to arrange drapery and make handsome folds, his color is beautiful (...)
Although Belisarius Begging for Alms has received the highest amount of praise from contemporary critics, Equestrian Portrait of Count Stanislas Potocki has since been described as one of the paintings that "cemented David's success". David's debut at the 1781 Salon proved to be an important artistic milestone and helped to establish him as "the most promising painter of the rising generation". Following its display in Paris, the portrait was sent to Warsaw, although the precise timeline of its movements remains uncertain. Existing records indicate that it was transferred to Wilanów Palace, a former royal residence near Warsaw owned by Potocki, on December 5, 1801. The Baroque palace and its accompanying gardens, originally built for King John III Sobieski and his wife Marie Casimire Louise de La Grange d'Arquien in 1681–1696, was inherited by Izabela Lubomirska, the sister of Potocki's wife Aleksandra, in 1778.
hat Saint Roch Interceding with the Virgin for the Plague-Stricken Belisarius Begging for Alms Warsaw Salon Potocki Equestrian Portrait of Count Stanislas Potocki Izabela Lubomirska John III Sobieski color palette The Funeral Games of Patroclus pl history painting Enlightenment philosopher Wilanów Palace Wilanów Baroque Marie Casimire Louise de La Grange d'Arquien Denis Diderot Palace Count Stanislas Potocki writer