# A Portrait Medallion of King Louis XV Surrounded by Putti Carrying the Attributes of Fame and History

- By: Gabriel Jacques de Saint-Aubin (French, 1724–1780)
- Date: 1774
- Medium: Graphite, with traces of pen and black ink, on parchment, tipped onto white paper, tipped on blue card
- Classification: Drawing and Watercolor
- Dimensions: Primary/secondary supports: 12 × 14.6 cm (4 3/4 × 5 3/4 in.); Tertiary support: 15.5 × 19.5 cm (6 1/8 × 7 11/16 in.)
- Culture: France
- Credit line: Gift of Dorothy Braude Edinburg to the Harry B. and Bessie K. Braude Memorial Collection
- Museum: [Art Institute of Chicago](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/186412)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://invisiblenetwork.ai/thumbs/web/7f06d1dad1a956dba6f3b24a1b10dd34.jpg
- Who can see it: Teens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

Although Gabriel de Saint-Aubin failed in his attempts to be accepted by the Royal Academy as a history painter, he never gave up entirely his work in historical subjects, and he loved to endow political figures with ornamental relish. This drawing might have decorated a treatise; it is inscribed by the artist with the declaration “The Heart of the French (Le Coeur des Français)” and signed and dated January 11, 1774.

Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0