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Jean Baptiste Van Loo

Price Tax incl.:
24000 EUR

Workshop of Jean Baptiste Van Loo (1684-1745) Circa 1730 18th century French school Portrait of a young Louis XV in armor Oil on canvas, dimensions: h. 128, l. 95 cm Gilded and richly carved wooden frame in the Louis XV style, 19th century Framed: h.161 cm, l. 128 cm A rare portrait of a young Louis XV in armor, a studio version derived from the official portrait by Jean Baptiste Van Loo. Here, we are in the presence of a king-commander of armies. In a solemn pose, the monarch is depicted standing, seen from three-quarters up to his knees, left hand resting on his hip, right hand resting on his fleur-de-lys command staff. His belligerent figure stands out against a background of sharp contrasts. Blue skies with residual cannon smoke share the space with a wide red velvet curtain that seems to envelop the sovereign. Completely covered in gleaming steel armor with gold ornamentation, consisting of cuirass, epaulets, armor arms and leggings protecting the thighs. His white waist scarf flutters in the wind in a complex construction of folds. The king wears in saltire the blue cordon of the Order of the Holy Spirit, whose changing moire echoes the flowing fabrics. His feathered helmet sits on a mound covered in velvet drape. Our portrait depicts Louis XV as an adolescent, and is a variant of the first full-length official portraits. The outdoor setting, against a backdrop of sky suggesting a battlefield, absence of crown and scepter, but the presence in the foreground of the baton of command convey the warlike image and military power of the adolescent king. Historical context: Our work is a studio variant by Jean Baptiste Van Loo, executed around 1730, inspired by the 1723 equestrian portrait of Louis XV. It was at the end of 1723 that Jean Baptiste Van Loo intervened at the request of Charles Parrocel in the execution of Louis XV's face, which the latter represented on horseback. Thanks to the success of this equestrian portrait (inv. MV3749), the Regent entrusted the portraitist Jean Baptiste Van Loo with two large full-length portraits of the young king in full regalia and armor (Château de Versailles, inv. MV6942) and (Musée du Louvre, TR77-GMTB430). At the same time, as early as 1723, Jean Baptiste Van Loo's workshop supplied the first replicas, which inspired the copyists in the cabinet of the Versailles Superintendence. Faced with the need to quickly distribute the new effigy of the king, the Bâtiments administration chose the type of Louis XV full-length, wearing armor and military garb, which it distributed throughout Europe. It is said that this portrait "adorns many of the cabinets of Europe and shows in a thousand places the object of French tenderness". Around 1729, Van Loo executed new variants of the portrait, taking into account the King's age and maturity, and the birth of the Dauphin, positioning him as a family man.

Galerie Nicolas Lenté
2, rue des Saints-Pères
75007 Paris
contact@galerienicolaslente.com
Tel. 06 64 42 84 66