A FRENCH CUIR BOUILLE PORTRAIT OF LOUIS XIV

This repoussé leather portrait probably derives from the circular medallion by François Girardon (1628-1715) that featured amongst the bas-relief compositions presented by the sculptor to his native city of Troyes in 1687. Placed above a mantelpiece in the hôtel de Ville, Troyes, in 1690, the bas-relief remains in situ to this day.

Girardon's celebrated portrait medallion of Louis XIV inspired several contemporary and slightly later versions, including the oval example in marble in the Basilica Saint-Denis, Paris, which was acquired by Alexandre Lenoir in the early 19th Century for the Musée des Monuments Français and subsequently incorporated within the cenotaph to Louis XIV erected in 1843. A further related medallion, executed in repoussé leather, is in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Bordeaux.