Image: Palace of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles has announced that the restoration of a large portrait of Louis XIV by Jollain is nearing completion at the C2RMF, France’s conservation and restoration centre. According to the museum’s post, the work has brought back the painting’s vibrant colours, with particular emphasis on the red and blue of the royal mantle.
The portrait was originally commissioned for the Sainte-Cyr Educational House, an institution for impoverished noble girls. Versailles identified the picture as a large-format portrait of Louis XIV by Jollain, placing the restoration within the long afterlife of a work once made for a specific royal educational setting and now preserved through specialist treatment.
The notice does not give a full restoration report, but it indicates that the conservation process is close to finished. The emphasis on colour recovery suggests a treatment aimed at reviving the painting’s visual impact while respecting its historical character. The reference to the C2RMF also situates the project within the network of French heritage conservation institutions responsible for major works on historic art.
Versailles shared the update in connection with the restoration itself rather than as part of an exhibition announcement, and no public display date was provided in the source material. The museum’s message focuses on the portrait’s renewed appearance and its origin for Sainte-Cyr, underscoring the painting’s role in the Bourbon visual world and in the educational history attached to the royal site.
The restored portrait is described as a large image of Louis XIV with the royal mantle rendered in red and blue, details that have now regained their intensity. As the treatment concludes, the work adds another example to the ongoing conservation of works associated with the palace and the broader artistic legacy of the reign of Louis XIV.
