Queen Marie Leszczy?ska and her son Louis of France, Dauphin of the Kingdom

The fact that these two paintings are shown together does not make them a pair. Although their dimensions are identical, they were not painted by the same artist, and their frames (both superb) are different. We wanted to offer them together for an obvious reason... You can purchase them separately. See listings Réf : 123662 for the Queen and Réf : 123482 for the Dauphin.

Marie Leszczy?ska, French school, 18th century. 95 cm x 79 cm with the frame. Louis de France , workshop of Louis Michel van Loo (1707-1771). 95 cm by 80 cm with frame.

Queen Marie Leszczynska and her son Louis:

The relationship between Marie Leszczynska and her son Louis, born in 1729, was marked by deep tenderness, a highly moral upbringing, and a certain distance imposed by etiquette, characteristic of life at the court of Versailles. From his earliest childhood, the Dauphin inspired intense affection in his mother. Marie Leszczynska, a pious, discreet, and gentle woman, found in him one of her main sources of emotional support in a marriage dominated by the infidelities of Louis XV. She therefore devoted herself seriously to his religious and moral education, hoping to make him a virtuous sovereign, more devoted to his duties than his father. However, court life limited the mother's role. The Dauphin was entrusted very early on to governors and tutors, according to monarchical tradition. The queen had to contend with this system, but she retained significant influence: Louis-Ferdinand visited her regularly, and contemporary accounts emphasize their close bond and the profound respect he held for his mother. Over the years, Louis-Ferdinand developed a serious, pious, and reserved personality, traits largely inherited from Marie Leszczynska. He shared with her a stricter, more traditional view of the monarchy, in contrast to the more detached style of Louis XV. Their close relationship was further strengthened by family tragedies, notably the premature deaths of several of his siblings. The final ordeal was the most painful: the death of the Dauphin in 1765, at only 36 years old. Marie Leszczynska was deeply affected. She lost not only her son, but also the heir who, for her, embodied the possibility of a moral renewal of the monarchy. She never fully recovered from this grief and lived her last years in great inner seclusion, until her own death in 1768.