Artwork
Portrait of Lodewijk XIII de Bourbon (1601-1643)

Portrait of Lodewijk XIII de Bourbon (1601-1643) is an oil painting by the French Classical Baroque artist Unknown. It dates from 1625 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum. This portrait is a round painting on copper, depicting a man in formal attire.
About this work
Technique & Style
Classified as an anonymous production, the piece demonstrates the formal precision and compact handling associated with courtly miniatures of the period.
Created in 1625, this portrait of Lodewijk XIII de Bourbon is executed as a miniature painting on a copper support. The artist applied oil paint directly onto the metal surface, a technique characteristic of small-scale portraiture from the Northern Low Countries during the early seventeenth century. The work measures 4.5 cm in height and 3.8 cm in width, reflecting the intimate scale typical of the genre.
Classified as an anonymous production, the piece demonstrates the formal precision and compact handling associated with courtly miniatures of the period.
History & Provenance
The portrait of Lodewijk XIII de Bourbon was created in 1625, executed in oil paint on a small copper support measuring 4.5 by 3.8 cm, and produced in the Northern Low Countries. The work is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum, the National Art Gallery of the Netherlands, where it is classified as a miniature portrait. The sources do not document the original commissioner, the circumstances of its creation, or the chain of ownership by which it entered the museum's holdings.
Context
The work is a small-scale oil portrait created on copper in the Northern Low Countries around 1625, reflecting the region's tradition of intimate courtly imagery and the artist's engagement with early Dutch portraiture. Its classification as a miniature further situates it within a specialized genre of devotional and commemorative images produced for elite patrons. The attribution to an anonymous hand working within the circle of early Dutch portraitists underscores the collaborative and often unattributed nature of workshop practices during this period.
The painting's presence in a major national collection highlights its recognized historical and artistic significance within Dutch art of the early 17th century.
Overview
This portrait is a round painting on copper, depicting a man in formal attire.
Subject & Meaning
The subject is Lodewijk XIII de Bourbon, identifiable by his dark hair and mustache. He wears a white lace collar and dark jacket with gold embroidery, conveying a sense of dignity and status.
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