Portrait of Maurice of Saxony

French artist Maurice Quentin de La Tour created this portrait of Maurice, comte de Saxe around 1747-1748, depicting one of France's most celebrated military commanders. The Marshal General of France appears in a composition that demonstrates La Tour's mastery of pastel portraiture, the medium for which he became the most sought-after artist of the French Rococo period.

Hermann Maurice, Count of Saxony (1696-1750) was an illegitimate son of Augustus II of Poland who became a French general and one of the finest military commanders of his era. His victories at Fontenoy and other battles made him a national hero. La Tour captured him with the confident bearing befitting his military reputation.

La Tour created multiple versions of this portrait. One version resides at the Louvre, while another hangs at the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister in Dresden. The Dresden version measures 49 x 59.5 cm. La Tour's pastel technique allowed him to achieve effects of color and luminosity that rivaled oil painting while capturing the powder and silk of aristocratic dress.