Louis XV of France

Rosalba Carriera painted Louis XV of France in 1720 during her celebrated visit to Paris, when she was received at the French court and introduced to the young king, who was then just ten years old. The pastel, now in Dresden, is among the most historically significant works of her career: it captures Louis at the very beginning of his long reign, before the policies and personality that would define it emerged. Carriera's Paris visit of 1720–21 was a triumph — she was admitted to the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture, became fashionable among the Parisian elite, and made pastels of many of the major figures at court. Her access to the king himself placed her at the pinnacle of this achievement. The Dresden collection received this work through the Saxon electoral connection, reflecting the close cultural ties between the Dresden and Versailles courts. The portrait documents a moment of monarchical youth at a crucial transitional period in French history — the end of the Regency of Philippe d'Orléans.

Capturing a royal child required Carriera to combine the softness of youth with the gravitas of monarchy. She navigates this by dressing the boy-king in formal court attire while allowing his facial features to retain their natural youth and vulnerability. The pastel medium's blended quality suits both requirements simultaneously.