Portrait of Louis de France, Grand Dauphin, circa 1680

Grand Dauphin, Louis de Bourbon, known as Monseigneur, son of Louis XIV and Marie Thérèse of Austria
17th century French school, circa 1677-1678
Oil on canvas,
Dimensions: h. 93 cm, l. 72 cm
Very important 17th century giltwood frame with carved flowered corners
Framed: h. 115, l. 95 cm

This magnificent effigy of the Grand Dauphin immediately appeals to us with its belligerent and majestic posture. The prince, the only legitimate heir to the powerful Louis XIV, is portrayed as a military leader, but also in royal costume. Thus he is dressed in a shining armor of steel and gilded steel. With a white tie around his neck, he wears the blue ribbon of the Order of the Holy Spirit as a saltire. Placed on his shoulders, a royal mantle of blue velvet embroidered with golden fleurs-de-lys. The white sash of the general officers is tied around his waist. Noble carriage, his illuminated face with a slightly rosy complexion appears among the thick curls of his powdered wig.
The benevolent and slightly shy expression of his lively eyes reminds us of his extreme youth, the prince being only about 16 and 17 years old in the portrait. Protected by Louis XIV, he would only participate very late in real military combats.
A tight framing gives our portrait a realistic dimension and the sober background intensifies the presence of the prince.

Although he was an important member of the royal family, the only direct heir to the throne, the Grand Dauphin does not seem to have benefited from sustained communication and those of his portraits that have come down to us are essentially bust replicas of his famous portrait by Rigaud from 1697. It is undeniable that he was portrayed throughout his childhood and adolescence, but the vagaries of history have ensured that most of his effigies are lost. Even the Palace of Versailles has very few portraits of the prince. Our portrait, whose composition is unprecedented, emerges as the missing link in the iconography of the Grand Dauphin, and in particular in the military iconography that gradually became established from his adolescence onwards and of which few portraits known to date bear witness.