Bust of Louis XVI by Boizot in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, May 2018

Louis XVI

Artist: Louis Simon Boizot (French, Paris 1743–1809 Paris)

Date: 1777

Medium: Marble

Dimensions: Bust: 25 3/8 × 20 1/16 × 14 3/8 in., 220.5 lb. (64.5 × 51 × 36.5 cm, 100 kg)
Base: 5 11/16 × 9 13/16 in. (14.5 × 25 cm)

Classification: Sculpture

Credit Line: Musée National des Châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon (MV 5789)


Visitors commented on the king’s apparent good nature, which Boizot ably expressed in this bust, a departure from an official, idealized portrait. Marie Antoinette commissioned this work as well as a companion piece of her brother, Emperor Joseph II of Austria, to commemorate the latter’s 1777 visit. Their informal appearance relates to the fact that they were intended for display in the Petit Trianon, the queen’s private retreat.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/699686