Louis XIV, Large Plaster Medallion 19th Century

Louis XIV, large medallion in threaded plaster after the marble of Pierre Puget (1620-1694) made around 1688.
Very good condition, beautiful patina, old label and workshop stamp (illegible). Hanging ring. Late 19th century.
Staging the political gesture of royal power, this portrait in profile shows a Louis XIV looking far away, proud, determined and serene. It is fixed in full maturity by an artist sure of his talent and aware of the importance of the order received, which is part of the ambitious project of the Place Royale in Marseille. It was the sculptor Pierre Puget who was chosen to create the equestrian statue of the sovereign, he concentrated there at the end of the 1680s. It was he who also executed a marble medallion showing the Sun King in profile. An official model which was so successful that it was copied many times in the south of France at the end of the 17th century. Historians agree to see the original in that of the Museum of Fine Arts in Marseille, the Granet Museum in Aix-en-Provence possessing a good quality replica.