saint quentin de la tour

• The Collection
• The American Wing Ancient Near Eastern Art Arms and Armor The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing Asian Art The Cloisters The Costume Institute Drawings and Prints Egyptian Art European Paintings European Sculpture and Decorative Arts Greek and Roman Art Islamic Art Robert Lehman Collection The Libraries Medieval Art Musical Instruments Photographs Antonio Ratti Textile Center Modern and Contemporary Art

Crop your artwork:

Scan your QR code:

Gratefully built with ACNLPatternTool

Préparation for a Portrait of Louis XV (1710-1774)

Maurice Quentin de La Tour French

Not on view

In the age of Enlightenment when the medium of pastel gained immense popularity, Maurice-Quentin de La Tour was perhaps its most gifted practitioner. He was distinguished from his peers by his ability to capture the inner spirit and intellect of his sitters. To achieve this end he developed a method of preparing his works through preliminary studies of the head, seen from different angles and with different expressions. Described by the French term préparation , these rapid drawings in pastel, often done on blue paper, showcase La Tour’s virtuoso talents. This pastel study was made as part of the preparatory process for La Tour’s first portrait commission of king Louis XV, exhibited in the 1745 Salon. This close study of his head was undoubtedly done from life and makes clear the access and time granted to La Tour. The sense of underlying bone structure, and the tone and texture of the complexion are expertly achieved, but most impressive is La Tour’s ability to convey the quality of mind behind the young king’s eyes, projecting an animated and engaged intellect. Perrin Stein, May 2014

Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Open Access

As part of the Met's Open Access policy , you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.

Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API .

• https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/367557 https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/367557 Link copied to clipboard
• Animal Crossing
• Download image
• Enlarge image

with mat closed.

This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.

with mat open

Artwork Details

Use your arrow keys to navigate the tabs below, and your tab key to choose an item

Title: Préparation for a Portrait of Louis XV (1710-1774)

Artist: Maurice Quentin de La Tour (French, Saint-Quentin 1704–1788 Saint-Quentin)

Date: ca.1745

Medium: Pastel on blue paper, arched top

Dimensions: sheet (original sheet): 12 7/8 x 9 7/16 in. (32.7 x 24 cm)

Classification: Drawings

Credit Line: Gift of Mary Tavener Holmes, in honor of Donald Posner, 2005

Accession Number: 2005.66

Learn more about this artwork

Timeline of art history, the eighteenth-century pastel portrait, france, 1600-1800 a.d., museum publications.

"Recent Acquisitions, A Selection: 2004–2005": The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 63, no. 2 (Fall, 2005)

Pastel Portraits: Images of Eighteenth-Century Europe [adapted from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 68, no. 4 (Spring, 2011)]

"A New Preparatory Sketch by Maurice Quentin de La Tour": Metropolitan Museum Journal, v. 42 (2007)

Related artworks.

• All Related Artworks
• By Maurice Quentin de La Tour
• Drawings and Prints
• From Europe
• From France
• From A.D. 1600–1800

Jean Charles Garnier d'Isle (1697–1755)

Portrait of Nicolas Trigault in Chinese Costume

Study of a Seated Woman Seen from Behind (Marie-Gabrielle Capet)

Marie Antoinette in a Park

Head of a Man

How Pastel Drawings are Made

Resources for research.

The Met's Libraries and Research Centers provide unparalleled resources for research and welcome an international community of students and scholars.

The Met Collection API is where all makers, creators, researchers, and dreamers can connect to the most up-to-date data and public domain images for The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form . The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.

Drawings and Prints at The Met