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1 of 253523 objects
Louis XIII, King of France (1601-43) c. 1622-39
Oil on canvas | 194.9 x 114.1 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external) | RCIN 404108
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Full-length portrait of Louis XIII, King of France (1601-43), standing, facing slightly to the right, in state robes, holding a golden rod in his left hand, his right on his hip. On the right is a crown and sceptre on a table. He wears the collar of the Order of Saint Esprit, ermine-lined blue robes over a tunic.
Though this portrait is obviously closely related to the work of Philippe de Champaigne, its exact status has never been settled. The closest certainly autograph work is Champaigne’s Louis XIII (Louvre Inv. 1167), wearing the same Coronation robes with underneath a French royal version of Roman dress, his sandaled foot projecting over a carpeted step. But in that portrait the King is enthroned, whereas in the Royal Collection version he stands with his hand resting on a golden cane. This is the only version of this precise composition; its quality suggests that it is a copy of a lost original or an imitator's free adaptation of known Champaigne compositions.
The painting is currently framed in a version of the 'Hampton Court' frame design with a label naming the artist as Belcamp. This would appear to have borrowed from Belcamp portrait of the same sitter (RCIN 404098).Provenance
Purchased by George IV on 18 July 1828 from Alexis Delahante of Paris as part of a group of four French paintings (402759, 404108, 404410 and 404490) costing £180 in total; added to the Carlton House inventory dated 1819 (no 618); recorded in the Princesses' (now Principal) Corridor at Buckingham Palace in 1865
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Creator(s)
Acquirer(s)
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Medium and techniques
Oil on canvas
Measurements
194.9 x 114.1 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external)
212.0 x 130.8 x 8.0 cm (frame, external)