19th century French school Louis XIV on horseback Bronze with brown patina Height : 57 cm Resting on a green marble base Total height: 77 cm Provenance: Anonymous sale; Paris, Christie's, 24 November 2021, no. 530 (sold for €43,750); Acquired at this sale by the current owner; Private collection, Paris In the great classical tradition, Louis XIV is depicted in an antique costume, riding a horse at a walk, following the aesthetic canons already developed in Antiquity with the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius at the Capitol, but also by the greatest sculptors under Louis XIV: Coysevox, Girardon, Desjardins and Le Hongre. The image of a sovereign on horseback has always been the most dignified and elevated representation of power. Louis XIV understood this perfectly well in the development of his royal propaganda, and set up a programme to disseminate his strong and powerful image in the most remote parts of the kingdom, by creating squares and equestrian monuments bearing his effigy. All the sculptors mentioned were called upon to create these works to the glory of the king. Our bronze is a real curiosity in the sense that the artist did not propose a radical imitation, as was customary in the 19th century, but preferred to skilfully combine inspirations from each of these masters' works. Our object thus appears to be a unique cast made in the 19th century, incorporating the aesthetic and stylistic codes of the reign of the Sun King. A number of marvellous details testify to the great attention to detail that the artist brought to his bronze: the elegant braid in the horse's mane, the attention paid to rendering the fur and armour, and the very dry and precise cold chasing throughout the bronze. 19th century French school