Workshop of Jean Petitot, Portrait of King Louis XIV, ca. 1670

Chicago:

Blythe Sobol, “Workshop of Jean Petitot, Portrait of King Louis XIV, ca. 1670,” catalogue entry in Aimee Marcereau DeGalan, Blythe Sobol, and Maggie Keenan, The Starr Collection of Portrait Miniatures, 1500–1850: The Collections of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, vol. 1, ed. Aimee Marcereau DeGalan (Kansas City, MO: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2024), https://doi.org/10.37764/8322.5.2106.

MLA:

Sobol, Blythe. “Workshop of Jean Petitot, Portrait of King Louis XIV, ca. 1670,” catalogue entry. Aimee Marcereau DeGalan, Blythe Sobol, and Maggie Keenan. The Starr Collection of Portrait Miniatures, 1500–1850: The Collections of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, edited by Aimee Marcereau DeGalan, vol. 1, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2024. doi: 10.37764/8322.5.2106.

See the artist’s biography in volume 4.

Long unidentified, the subject of this miniature, with his imperious gaze, flowing brown curls, and thickly patterned lace cravat, is the French King Louis XIV. Jean Petitot was widely responsible for disseminating the self-proclaimed Sun King’s image across Europe, as his miniature versions of royal portraits were highly portable in contrast to the large-scale oil originals. The monarchy’s frequent orders for Petitot to produce miniatures of Louis, which were used as diplomatic gifts, were so relentless that Petitot employed a workshop of enamellists to paint copies of his works to meet the demand.¹

This miniature is one such example, produced by his workshop in about 1670.² It is probably a copy of an autograph work by Petitot, which itself took as its model Claude Lefebvre’s (1632–1675) portrait of Louis XIV (ca. 1670), which circulated widely as an engraving (Fig. 1).³ Lefebvre’s painting seems to have been a favorite of the king’s, as it was replicated numerous times in a variety of formats, including one version painted into an allegory of Louis XIV as a protector of the arts and sciences.⁴ As a copy of a copy, this portrait lacks the usual liveliness and intensity of expression that is typical of Petitot’s miniatures. The workshop assistant who painted it was not able to match Petitot’s meticulous technique.⁵

A significant area of loss in Louis’s right cheek has recently been repainted.⁶ While the miniature was probably originally mounted as a pin or pendant—perhaps to be prominently displayed by a courtier as a sign of the king’s favor—it was later placed in a ring, creating more opportunities for damage.⁷ Later collectors delighted in adorning themselves with their favorite miniatures, and rings were a particularly popular form of wearable mount.

Notes

1. “[Petitot’s] popularity led to almost mass production,” writes Priscilla Grace in “A Celebrated Miniature of the Comtesse d’Olonne,” Philadelphia Museum of Art Bulletin 83, no. 53 (Autumn, 1986): 9.

2. We are grateful to Bernd Pappe, who examined this miniature and offered his insights on the attribution and date during a July 23–25, 2023, visit. Notes in NAMA curatorial files.

3. A nearly identical enamel miniature is in the collection of the New Orleans Museum of Art: Jean Petitot, Louis XIV, The “Sun King” of France, ca. 1668, enamel, 1 x 7/8 in. (2.54 x 2.23 cm), New Orleans Museum of Art, https://noma.org/collection/louis-xiv-the-sun-king-of-france. Another closely related version is in the collection of the Louvre: Jean Petitot, Boîte à portrait of Louis XIV, ca. 1668, painted enamel on gold, 2 13/16 x 1 13/16 in. (7.2 x 4.6 cm), Musée du Louvre, Paris, https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl010117221. It is rare for a boîte à portrait, an elaborately framed portrait designed as a diplomatic gift from the monarch, to survive intact with its original diamond-encrusted mount.

4. There are many known examples of this portrait by Lefebvre. The original version is at the New Orleans Museum of Art: Claude Lefebvre, Portrait of Louis XIV of France (1638–1715), 1670, oil on canvas, 46 x 35 1/4 in. (116.8 x 89.5 cm), New Orleans Museum of Art, Gift of Hirschl and Adler Gallery, New York (1956.67).

5. Bernd Pappe, July 23–25, 2023, NAMA curatorial files.

6. See treatment report by visiting conservator Carol Aiken, NAMA curatorial files, 2019.

7. While enamel miniatures are less delicate than those painted on ivory or vellum, they are still prone to abrasions, cracks, and pitting when dropped, struck, or cleaned with acidic substances.

Mr. John W. (1905–2000) and Mrs. Martha Jane (1906–2011) Starr, Kansas City, MO, by 1958;

Their gift to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1958.

Jean Petitot, Louis XIV, The “Sun King” of France, ca. 1668, enamel, 1 x 7/8 in. (2.54 x 2.23 cm), New Orleans Museum of Art.

Jean Petitot, Boîte à Portrait of Louis XIV, ca. 1668, painted enamel on gold, 2 13/16 x 1 13/16 in. (7.2 x 4.6 cm), Musée du Louvre, Paris.

Claude Lefebvre, Portrait of Louis XIV of France (1638–1715), 1670, oil on canvas, 46 x 35 1/4 in. (116.8 x 89.5 cm), New Orleans Museum of Art.

Ross E. Taggart, ed., Handbook of the Collections in the William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, 4th ed. (Kansas City, MO: William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, 1959), 265, as Portrait of a Man.

Ross E. Taggart, The Starr Collection of Miniatures in the William Rockhill Nelson Gallery (Kansas City, MO: Nelson Gallery-Atkins Museum, 1971), no. 24, p. 14, (repro.), as Unknown Man.