A rare and historically important rediscovery, this luminous oil sketch by Alexandre Ubelesqui occupies a remarkable place in the history of French academic painting under Louis XIV. Identified by François Marandet as the preparatory sketch for Ubelesqui’s reception piece at the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture, the painting is very likely the “dessein” presented by the artist to the members of the Académie on 11 January 1681, when the composition was approved and initialled. Such preparatory modelli for reception pieces are exceptionally rare. This example is all the more compelling for being supported by precise archival documentation from the Académie itself. The composition celebrates the Peace of Nijmegen through a rich allegorical language, bringing together Apollo, Minerva, Victory, Abundance and the personifications of the Arts in a theatrical vision of peace, prosperity and artistic renewal. Recently cleaned, the painting has recovered a remarkable freshness and luminosity. Both a beautiful work in its own right and a major document for the genesis of an Académie royale reception piece, it is a painting of true institutional significance.