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Louis XVII
(18th and 19th Centuries )
Louis XVII of France (Louis-Charles of France, Duke of Normandy, then Dauphin, then Louis XVII after the death of his father) (1785-1795) was the son of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette. He was imprisoned during the French Revolution and died in captivity at the age of ten. It is believed that the Walters' portrait bust was modeled during the reign of Louis XVIII (1814 to 1824) as propaganda in support of the restoration of the monarchy. It is possible that it is loosely based on a bust by Louis-Pierre Deseine (1749-1822) (Versailles 1985.403), although that portrait is more detailed and the expression of the sitter more direct. Versions exist in unglazed porcelain made by the Sevres manufactory, these are often attrinbuted to Houdon.
Inscription
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
E. F. Bonaventure, New York, [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1910 [mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Geographies
France (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H with base: 19 in. (48.3 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters, 1910
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
27.369