17th Century French School, Besson Family Coat Of Arms (fribourg, Switzerland)

Watercolor on paper (41 x 31 cm), mounted under a mat. Shield: silver with an azure band charged with a golden fleur-de-lis, accompanied by two gules lions. Crest: facing helmet, surmounted by a bust of an issuant child. Supporters: two infants supporting the shield. Two collars of orders frame the whole. Motto: Innocence maintains despite envy. The iconography is particularly original: a citadel armed with six cannons and a soldier symbolizes Innocence, while at the bottom, in the ditch, an allegorical figure embodies Envy. These are the arms of Henri Robert de Besson de Rozéfort (1627-1697), knight of the Order of Saint-Michel, exempt from the Hundred Swiss Guard, one of the thirteen privileged Swiss of this prestigious company, and captain in the Mazarin regiment. This rare watercolor, of great quality of execution, testifies to the refinement of French heraldic art of the 17th century, mixing allegorical symbolism and affirmation of social rank. (B5469 G273)