Louis XIV's Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture

The portraits hanging in this room depict artists who passed the entrance exam of the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture. Louis XIV actively supported the arts to gain an edge over Italy and to raise the prestige of the French kingdom, and as part of that effort he founded the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture in 1648. Since every artist wanted to join, an entrance exam existed, and its requirement was simply this: paint a portrait of an existing academy member. The portraits now on display are the result of exactly that exercise.

But how could there already be "existing members" of an academy that had only just been founded? There is a clear explanation. This room holds a portrait of François Girardon, the sculptor behind the great group of Apollo attended by white marble nymphs seen near the entrance of Versailles, and above it hangs a portrait of Hyacinthe Rigaud, the painter behind the most famous image of Louis XIV ever made. Having already proven their mastery through such works, these artists had no need to sit an exam — they were already authorities in their fields. In other words, everyone depicted in this room was among the leading artists of the age. Look closely and you can tell the painters from the sculptors: painters are shown holding a palette, while sculptors appear with their tools or their own sculptures.