The modello of the Sun King’s portrait

In November 1700, the duke of Anjou (1683-1746) acceded to the throne of Spain under the name Philip V, an advantageous move for France, late in the reign of Louis XIV, the duke’s grandfather. Just before the young Philip left France for Madrid on December 4, 1700, Louis XIV expressed a wish to have a portrait painted of his grandson. Philip responded by commissioning the same artist to paint a portrait of his grandfather, so he could take it to Spain with him. Perhaps because it was so successful, the portrait of Louis XIV would remain in Versailles.

The principle of the modello was to show the commissioning body – in this case, the king’s Administration des Bâtiments du Roi and the monarch himself – a sufficiently completed sketch to present in detail but in a scaled-down format the manner in which the final canvas would be composed and executed. For an official portrait, the iconography of which had to be precise and clearly defined in order to be politically effective, the execution of a modello was essential. Certain differences with the final painting show that this canvas cannot be a copy but was in all likelihood rendered beforehand.