Louis XV: Peace Concluded at Aix-la-Chapelle

France emerged victorious from The War of the Austrian Succession, a massive European-wide conflict that consumed the continent for eight brutal years. This medal was struck in 1749 to commemorate the war’s conclusion with the treaty signed in 1748 at Aix-la-Chapelle [Aachen].


Perhaps to evoke Aix-la-Chapelle’s ancient status as Europe’s first capital under the Holy Roman Empire, the French king, Louis XV (b. 1710; r. 1715-74), is portrayed wearing a ribbon fillet in emulation of portraits of the Roman emperors on classical coinage. Allusions to imperial numismatic traditions continue on the medal’s reverse. The female personification of enthroned Peace is similar to representations of the enthroned goddess Salus on the reverses of Roman coins. The medal’s inscription, SALUS GENERIS HUMANI recalls the goddess’s name and role as guardian of the Roman people’s well-being.


Peace is surrounded by the munificent benefits that accrue to a people when war (symbolized by the military trophies and banners) is banished from her radiant light. In her right hand, Peace wields her emblem, the olive branch, like a scepter, and with the left, she offers the cornucopia of abundant prosperity. Under her benevolence, the arts and sciences (symbolized by books, an armillary sphere, and a compass and framing square) and commerce (symbolized by the anchor, caduceus, and bundle of trade goods) flourish.


Little is known about the medalist and goldsmith, François Marteau, who with this work created one of the most elegantly resonant medals of Louis XV’s reign. Marteau brings a goldsmith’s precision to the detailed, nuanced engraving of both portrait and allegorical reverse. His syncopation of matte and reflective surfaces endow the medal with a jewel-like energy and sparkle. Marteau’s friend, Edme Bouchardon (1698-1762), sculptor to the king, provided the brilliant design for the medal’s reverse for which four preparatory drawings survive.