Portraits En Majesté François De Troy, Nicolas De Largilliere, Hyacinthe Rigaud

Exhibition at the Musée Hyacinthe Rigaud, Perpignan, 26 June - 27 November 2021

During his reign, Louis XIV gave the arts a central place in the accompaniment of his political project: architecture, painting, sculpture, music and dance thus benefited from an almost unlimited royal patronage. From the 1680s onwards, François de Troy (1645-1730), Nicolas de Largillierre (1656-1746) and Hyacinthe Rigaud (1649-1753) set about renewing the overly wise model of the classical portrait by injecting it with an unexpected baroque impetus, thus revolutionising the syntax of the French portrait.

This exhibition catalogue, which includes some one hundred masterpieces, examines the practical, theoretical and aesthetic aspects of French portraiture at its peak.