Portrait of King Louis XV

French artist Maurice Quentin de La Tour created this portrait of King Louis XV using pastel, his signature medium. The monarch appears in regal attire, his features rendered with the notable lifelike quality that made La Tour the most sought-after portraitist in Rococo France.

La Tour's pastels captured the luminosity of skin and fabric with unmatched delicacy. He portrayed the entire French court, leaving an invaluable visual record of 18th-century aristocracy. This portrait hangs at the Louvre in Paris.