Portrait of King Louis XVI

Watercolor and gouache

Late 18th to 19th century

2 x 2 1/4 in., framed to 3 1/4 x 3 3/4 in. 

Contemporary or near-contemporary wood frame with thermoplastic and bone accents. 

A miniature portrait of King Louis XVI (1754-1793), most likely based on the Portrait de Louis XVI by Joseph Boze (1746-1826). Louis XVI is seen in a blue embroidered coat with a white cravat and the Order of the Holy Spirit pinned to his left breast. 

Louis XVI was the last French king of the Ancien Régime before the French Revolution broke out. In 1770, he married Marie Antoinette, who became queen of France when Louis XVI was crowned in 1774. His reign is best remembered as hostile — Louis XVI went against the burgeoning ideas of the Enlightenment that the lower classes sought. Additionally, a bad harvest and his gravitation toward financing North America's war against the British caused France to shoulder high levels of debt, leading to revolts starting in 1775. 

This anger resulted in the Estates General convening in 1789, where the commoners aired their grievances toward the nobility and clergy and felt as though they weren't being heard. Commoners responded by storming the Bastille on 14 July, the first of many revolts to take place during the French Revolution. Louis XVI was now seen as the embodiment of tyranny. 

Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, and their children tried to flee to Varennes in 1791 but were arrested. However, on 10 August 1792, Louis XVI was arrested again during the insurrection that took place. It was this arrest that ultimately led to Louis XVI being executed by guillotine on 21 January 1793, marking the end of the Ancien Régime. 

[Art, Fine Art, Portrait Miniature, Paintings, 19th Century, French Revolution, France, Napoleon] 

Not examined out of frame