Allegorie op de kroning van Lodewijk XVI op 11 juni 1775 1751 - 1811

Louis Joseph Masquelier created this print in France, commemorating the coronation of Louis XVI in 1775. It shows the king elevated and watched over by allegorical figures. The print blends the real with the ideal to convey a sense of divine approval for Louis's reign. Masquelier uses the visual codes of religious art to elevate a political event into a moment of spiritual significance. The style references the Baroque period and earlier examples of royal portraiture. As an art historian, I am interested in the image’s function as propaganda, its appeal to conservative values, and its place within the broader visual culture of the French monarchy. By consulting primary sources such as pamphlets, newspapers, and engravings from the period, we can better understand how this image participated in the construction of royal authority, and how the public would have received and understood it.