Young Louis XIV as Dionysus circa 1650, attributed to Jean Nocret (1615-1672)

Relined canvas measuring 64 cm by 57 cm
Superb Louis XIV style frame measuring 87 cm by 77 cm

This presumed portrait of the young Louis XIV was executed around 1650.
Dionysus was a Greek god in his own right. A god whose popularity spanned several eras and who took on different aspects; he is depicted both as a magnificent, effeminate youth with full hair and as a corpulent, bearded adult. Functionally, the Greek Dionysus and the Roman Bacchus are the same god. However, there are some important differences. Dionysus, a noble and youthful figure from mythology and classical literature, is generally included in the list of the twelve gods of Olympus. While Bacchus is often depicted as a corpulent mature man who, according to the Roman poet Ovid, was vengeful and used his staff as both a magic wand and a weapon against those who dared to oppose his cult and his ideals of freedom.

Jean Nocret (1615, 1672)

He was a student of Jean Le Clerc, a painter from Lorraine. After a trip to Rome where he met Poussin with whom he had a slight falling out, he returned to Paris in 1644. In 1649, he was appointed painter to the King, valet to the King and painter to the Duke of Orléans. He quickly became known and appreciated as a portrait painter. In 1657, Nocret was part of the retinue of the Bishop of Comminges, French ambassador to Portugal. During this period, he painted portraits of the Portuguese royal family (the Infanta Catherien, the Infante Pierre and King Alfonso VI). Back in Paris in 1660, he was commissioned to decorate some ceilings and walls of the Château de Saint Cloud and many portraits. The most famous painting painted during this period is now in Versailles (Louis XIV and his family as Olympian gods). In 1663, he joined the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture. Under the direction of Lebrun, he was commissioned to decorate the Tuileries Palace, including the ceilings of the antechamber and the Queen's bedroom.