Porträt Ludwigs XIII., König von Frankreich 

Robert Nanteuil rendered this drawing of Louis XIII, King of France, on paper sometime in the mid-17th century. Nanteuil lived and worked in an era when the French monarchy was consolidating its absolute power. The portraits that he made of the leading politicians and members of the royal court in Paris were not merely images, but powerful statements about the structure of political and cultural authority. The success of artists like Nanteuil depended not only on their technical skill, but also on their ability to navigate the complex social codes of the French court. They were expected to produce images that were flattering to their subjects, but also conveyed a sense of their power and status. We can learn more about the history of this artwork by consulting primary source documents from the period, such as letters, diaries, and inventories, as well as secondary sources such as biographies of the artist and historical studies of the French court.