Louis XIII, King of France (b. 1601, r. 1610–43)
1620 and 1623
Medium
Bronze
Dimensions
Diam. 2 3/8 in. (60 mm.)
Classification
Medals and Plaquettes
Culture
French
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Gwynne M. Andrews, 1931
Accession Number
31.33.22
Tags
Art Historical Context
This bronze medal, created by the renowned French sculptor Guillaume Dupré, captures King Louis XIII of France in profile, a format long favored for royal portraiture. Produced between 1620 and 1623 during the monarch’s reign, the work reflects Dupré’s skill in rendering lifelike features and dignified expressions on a small scale. As a leading medalist of his era, Dupré often served the French court, blending Renaissance precision with emerging Baroque elegance to celebrate rulers and their legacies. Medals like this one held special cultural importance in seventeenth-century Europe. Cast in...
About the Artist
Guillaume Dupré · 1579–1640
**Guillaume Dupré (1579–1640)** Guillaume Dupré, born in Sissonne near Laon, emerged as one of France's premier sculptors and medallists during the transition from Renaissance to Baroque art. He studied under the renowned sculptor Barthélemy Prieur, marrying Prieur's daughter Madeleine in 1600 and later fathering Abraham Dupré, who followed in his footsteps as a medallist. His early talent caught...