Louis XV as a Roman Emperor

ca. 1750–60

Not on view

This large figure study can be connected to a lost painting, L'Ami de la paix, depicting the French king Louis XV in the garb of a Roman emperor. The drawing is primarily a study for the costume and the pose; the king’s features are only summarily indicated. Two compositional studies in ink and wash (Graphische Sammlung Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London) must have preceded our study, judging from the large scale of the figure and the level of detail. The Latin inscription on the stone refers to olive branches replacing spears.

A similar costume and pose was adopted by the sculptor Jean-Baptiste Pigalle for a bronze monument commissioned in 1755 and erected in Reims in 1765.

Perrin Stein (2017)

Artwork Details

Object Information

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

Exhibition History

Title: Louis XV as a Roman Emperor
Artist: Michel François Dandré-Bardon (French, Aix-en-Provence 1700–1783 Paris)
Date: ca. 1750–60
Medium: Red and white chalk on gray prepared paper
Dimensions: Sheet: 17 5/8 × 13 1/2 in. (44.7 × 34.3 cm)
Classification: Drawings
Credit Line: Purchase, Stephen A. Geiger Gift, 2017
Object Number: 2017.49
Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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