Portrait of Louis XIV

late 17th century

An oil on canvas portrait of Louis XIV (French, late 17th century), attributed to Henri Testelin (French, 1616-1695). The portrait depicts the King seated in a velvet upholstered armchair, wearing a ceremonial ermine-trimmed velvet mantle of a "lit de justice" (convened for registration of royal edicts), against a background of blue festooned draperies. Bourbon symbols embroidered on fabric draped table and velvet foot cushion. In his right hand, the King holds a short scepter with a fleur-de-lys finial, in his left hand "the hand of justice" scepter. The royal crown rests on a draped parapet in the middle distance at right. The canvas is believed to have been acquired by Mrs. Alva Vanderbilt on the English Market. The gilt frame, inscribed "Given by the King to the City of Ypres," is believed to be cut from an earlier frame in the council chamber of Ypres (then French Flanders), shortened on both ends and folded horizontally for removal and sale during the French Revolution. The portrait is a reduced-scale variant on the original 1668 portrait of Louis XIV, Protector of the Arts commissioned by the Royal Academy for its assembly hall in 1666. Seized during the French Revolution from storage at the Louvre Museum, the painting was deposited in a provincial warehouse during the 19th century and later transferred to the Gobelins Manufactory and thence sent to the Versailles history galleries in 1870.

France

oil on canvas

243.8 x 182.9 cm (96 x 72 inches)

Gift of estate of Frederick H. Prince.

PSNC.445