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This oil sketch has long been associated with a finished painting known as the Allegory of Louis XIV, King of France (State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg). Both feature Minerva, goddess of wisdom and warfare; here, she is seated on the back of a lion and points with a commanding gesture to a shield held up by putti. Next to Minerva is an aged, bearded man personifying Time, identifiable by the scythe and hourglass lying beside him. He bends forward under the weight of a book, in which the winged figure of Fame (or History) is about to write.

The shield in the St Petersburg painting has been filled with an inscription and a portrait likeness of Empress Catherine the Great, but here it bears neither a portrait nor an inscription. Although the sketch was previously thought to be an oil study for the finished painting, it is more likely a record of Solimena’s composition that he kept in his studio to show to prospective patrons.

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

An Allegory of Louis XIV

Date

about 1700

Medium

Oil on canvas

Measurements

H 47 x W 58.5 cm

Accession number

NG6521

Acquisition method

Bequeathed by Philip Hendy, 1989

Work type

Painting

The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

This venue is open to the public. Not all artworks are on display. If you want to see a particular artwork, please contact the venue.

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Artist or maker

Francesco Solimena

1657–1747

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