École française du début du XVIIIe siècle, d’après Hyacinthe RIGAUD (1659-1743).

Portrait of Louis XIV, king of France and Navarre. Oil on canvas (faded). In a later gilded wood frame carved with fleur-de-lis decoration. H. 146 x W. 115 cm. Frame : H. 174 x W. 143 cm. History This representation of the Sun King in three-quarter view in royal costume was most probably made for the King's Buildings after the famous painting by Hyacinthe Rigaud, a portraitist in vogue among the great men of the Court since the 1680s. This large portrait was commissioned by the King in 1701 as a gift for his grandson who was ascending to the Spanish throne as Philip V. The painting was so remarkable in the eyes of the King and the Court that it never left France and was placed in the throne room at Versailles. Unprecedented in the history of art, it became the official portrait of the King throughout the kingdom, and Rigaud's image of the monarch became a reference in royal iconography. Although Rigaud's studio continued to provide several replicas of the portrait to members of the royal family, the Bâtiments du Roi had the exclusive right to reproduce the originals kept in the Cabinet des tableaux at the superintendence. The official copies were then destined for the royal apartments or the major administrations of the Kingdom (notably the courts of justice or the palaces of the provincial governors). Placed under the authority of the Bâtiments du Roi, the Cabinet des tableaux had been created by Louis XIV in 1670. The position of "director and general organizer of the buildings, gardens, arts, academies and royal manufactures" was then held by Louis-Antoine de Pardaillan de Gondrin, Duke of Antin (portrayed by Rigaud). The painter François Stiémard (1680-1740), a renowned portraitist, who became "Garde des tableaux du Roi" under Louis XV, was one of the main artists in charge of the Buildings workshop. This is a beautiful copy of the portrait by Rigaud, probably executed by several hands in the workshop's own sense. The king's face is particularly distinguished by the great quality and finesse of its features, as is the wig, which is treated in a vaporous, voluminous and highly mounted manner; it is undeniable that a valuable painter has reserved the king's face, the lace of the jabot and the moiré and shiny effects of the costume for himself. The background has been modified for the occasion compared to the original painted by Rigaud; the column has disappeared in favor of sumptuous red and gold draperies evoking the canopy of a throne. Our painting can be compared to the copy now kept in Cambrai or the one in Marly, both having the same red decoration and the same quality in the treatment of the face and the royal costume. Related works - Full-length portrait of Louis XIV. Originals in the Louvre (inv. 7492) and in the Château de Versailles (inv. 7494). - Portrait of Louis XIV kneeling. 152 x 105 cm, Château de Versailles (inv. 7530), on deposit at the Musée de Cambrai. - Portrait of Louis XIV in three-quarter view. 157 x 126 cm, Château de Versailles (inv. 7525), on deposit at Marly.