Louis XV, King of France (1710-1774)

Louis XV, King of France, appears in this 1773 portrait at the Museum of the History of France at Versailles, one of the last official portraits of the king who died the following year. By 1773, Louis XV was aging and unpopular, and this late portrait records the monarch in his final years. Drouais, as the principal court portrait painter, was responsible for maintaining the official image of the king. Drouais was among the most successful portraitists of pre-Revolutionary France, working in the tradition of his father Hubert Drouais and studying under Carle van Loo, Natoire, and Boucher before establishing himself at court.

The state portrait follows established conventions for royal imagery, with the king shown in formal attire with the attributes of his office. Drouais"s technique negotiates the challenge of presenting an aging, unpopular monarch with appropriate majesty. The palette features the rich blues, golds, and crimsons of royal regalia. The handling is polished and formal, maintaining the dignity of the crown despite the individual monarch"s declining authority.