Louis XV (1710–1774)
Medium
Medallion: cast terracotta (terre de Chaumont); frame: gilt wood
Dimensions
Diameter (without frame): 6 1/4 in. (15.9 cm)
Classification
Sculpture-Miniature
Culture
French, Chaumont-sur-Loire
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of James Hazen Hyde, 1952
Accession Number
52.189.10
Tags
Art Historical Context
This elegant medallion captures King Louis XV of France in, created in 1770 by Jean-Baptiste Nini just four years before the monarch’s death. The small-scale portrait, measuring just over six inches in diameter, exemplifies the refined taste for miniature sculpture during the late ancien régime. Cast in terracotta from the distinctive local clay of Chaumont-sur-Loire—known as terre de Chaumont—the work was then set in a gilt-wood frame, transforming a modest material into a regal object suitable for display in private cabinets or studies. Nini specialized in such portrait medallions, which of...
About the Artist
Jean-Baptiste Nini · 1717–1786
Jean-Baptiste Nini, born Giovanni Battista Nini in Urbino, Italy, in March 1717, emerged as a versatile sculptor and medallist whose career bridged the vibrant artistic scenes of Italy, Spain, and France. The son of a modest painter, Nini received his initial training from his father in the rudiments of engraving. He honed these skills in Bologna, where he simultaneously studied sculpture at the A...