Louis de France, Duc de Bourgogne as Hymenaios

This bronze figure by the French court sculptor Van Clève represents Hymenaios, the ancient god of marriage. His face bears a striking esemblance to portraits of Louis de France (1682-1712), dubbed ‘le petit Dauphin.’ The sculpture might well have been made on the occasion of his marriage to Princess Marie Adélaïde of Savoy in 1697. Their youngest son would later become the French king Louis XV.