Louis Seize, Roi des Français, Restaurateur de la Liberté (Louis XVI, Restorer of Liberty)
Engraver Charles Clément Bervic French
After Antoine François Callet French
Sitter Louis XVI, King of France French
Not on view
This coronation portrait of Louis XVI presents him in lavish robes in a setting of Baroque splendor to affirm his position as absolute monarch. The related painting was made in 1780 to be copied in oil and sent to French embassies across Europe. The print of 1790 also served a diplomatic purpose, demonstrated by an impression presented to George Washington on December 22, 1791 by France's first ambassador to the United States.
Louis acceded to the throne in 1774 and his support for America's bid for independence included military support that proved crucial to the outcome of the Revolutionary War–France also hoped to regain territories lost to Britain during the Seven Years' War. This print, which proclaims the king "Restorer of Liberty," was published a few months after the outbreak of the French Revolution at a time when Louis still retained his crown. In September 1792, however, France would become a republic and the king treason and guillotined in January 1793.
