Lot 1906
AFTER JOSEPH BOZE (1746-1826)
PORTRAIT KING LOUIS XVI OF FRANCE
Standing, three quarter length, wearing a richly brocaded coat, oil on canvas
127 x 95.5cm.
* Boze, a student of Quentin de La Tour (1704-1788), established a fine reputation for his portraits of Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette and other members of the royal circle; his commissions earned him the soubriquet "Le Peintre Monarchique".
This portrait derives from originals of the mid 1780's and shows Louis XVI with the cord and plaque of the Holy Spirit and St. Louis and the order of the Golden Fleece that stand out on his blue velvet coat.
Boze acquired a great renown through the engravings of the King produced by Benoît-Louis Henriquez and others. It is thought that at least six autograph versions of this subject by Boze were painted between December 1785 and September 1786.
We are grateful to Gerard Fabre for his assistance with the cataloguing of this picture (based upon photographs). M. Fabre has suggested the possibility of the picture being by Boze's daughter, Victoire.
Provenance: By tradition, the picture used to hang in the British Embassy in Paris. It was sold to a club in London before its sale to a private collector in England in the 1970s
