King Philip VI of France

This portrait depicts Philip VI of Valois, the first king of the House of Valois, who ruled France from 1328 to 1350. A cousin of Charles IV, he came to the throne at the end of the direct Capetian line. His reign marks the beginning of a new dynasty, but also the opening of the Hundred Years’ War against England. This work belongs to the Portraits of Kings of France series, commissioned between 1837 and 1838 by Louis-Philippe for the Musée historique de Versailles. It reflects the 19th-century desire to gather and present the major figures of French monarchical history.