Louis XV (1710–1774) as a Child

Hyacinthe Rigaud

ca. 1716–24 · Oil on canvas · European Paintings

Louis XV succeeded to the throne of France in 1715 upon the death of his great-grandfather, Louis XIV, who had reigned for more than seventy years. The five-year-old boy was the only surviving son of Louis, duc de Bourgogne, and Marie Adélaïde de Savoie, both of whom had died of smallpox in 1712. The canvas is one of many versions of Rigaud’s first official portrait of Louis XV, which was commissioned by the regent, the duc d’Orléans, for the palace of Versailles.

Artist

Hyacinthe Rigaud

Date

ca. 1716–24

Medium

Oil on canvas

Department

European Paintings

Credit line

Purchase, Mary Wetmore Shively Bequest, in memory of her husband, Henry L. Shively, M.D., 1960