DUPLESSIS, Joseph-Siffred
(b. 1725, Carpentras, d. 1802, Versailles)

Portrait of the Comte d'Angiviller

1779
Oil on canvas, 144 x 106 cm
Musée National du Château, Versailles

In 1775, a former soldier and personal friend of the king, Charles-Claude de Flahaut de la Billaderie, the Comte d'Angiviller, was made the Directeur des Batiments du Roi (Director of the King's Buildings) - a kind of minister of fine arts. Through him more money was made available to commission paintings that were patriotic and didactic.