Follower of Jean-Baptiste Van Loo

This composition, a three-quarter length depiction of Louis XV, King of France and Navarre (1710-1774), is a simplified and reduced version of a 1726-1727 portrait by Jean-Baptiste Van Loo (Château de Versailles).¹ The image, showing the young king in armor holding the royal baton of command, was popular and widely disseminated. The copies were likely intended as diplomatic gifts and presents for friends and family. They also populated embassies and public buildings as a way of promulgating the monarch's regal image. 

Known as le Bien-Aimé (the well-liked), Louis XV acceded to the throne in 1715 at the tender age of five. (Until 1723, when he turned thirteen, his great uncle Philippe II, Duke of Orléans ruled as Regent.) Louis XV, his wife, Marie Leszczyńska, and his mistress, Madame de Pompadour, were all important collectors and patrons of the arts. 

1. Oil on canvas, 198.5 by 143 cm., inv. no. MV 6942. See http://collections.chateauversailles.fr/#91dca790-5b60-41c1-aa7b-6ffe08621e94.