The Inauguration of the Statue of Louis XIV, Place des Victoires, 1686

This illustration shows the inauguration, on 28 March 1686, of the gilt bronze equestrian statue of Louis XIV erected on the Place des Victoires in Paris. Commissioned in 1679 at the expense of Marshal François d'Aubusson de La Feuillade and sculpted by Martin Desjardins, the work depicted the king crowned by Victory and trampling the Triple Alliance underfoot. This monument commemorated the peak of French power sealed by the Peace of Nijmegen, before being destroyed in 1792 during the Revolution.