Louis XV succeeded the throne of France in 1715 after the death of his great-grandfather, Louis XIV, who had ruled for more than seventy years. The five-year-old boy was the only surviving son of Louis, Duc de Bourgogne and Marie Adélaïde de Savoie, both of whom had died of smallpox in 1712. The canvas is one of many versions of Rigaud's first official portrait of Louis XV, commissioned by the regent, the duc d'Orléans, for the palace of Versailles.
Discover more Old Masters in the following collections: