Portrait de Louis Phélypeaux de Saint-Florentin (1705-1777), comte de Saint Florentin, Duc de La Vrillière, ministre et secrétaire d'Etat

Van Loo employs a refined palette of deep blues and muted browns, highlighted by gold embroidery on the velvet jacket. Careful modeling of light and shadow—chiaroscuro—accentuates the textures of the fabrics and the polished wood of the chair, revealing the artist’s skill in rendering material richness.

Created toward the end of van Loo’s prolific career, the portrait entered the royal collection shortly after its completion. It has remained in the possession of the French state, currently housed in the Palace of Versailles, where it contributes to the narrative of the Ancien Régime’s administrative elite.

The painting reflects the conventions of mid‑eighteenth‑century French portraiture, where officials were depicted in luxurious attire to signal status. Van Loo, a court painter, often portrayed ministers and nobles, aligning their personal prestige with the visual language of the monarchy.

As a documented likeness of Louis Phélypeaux, the portrait serves both as a historical record and as an example of van Loo’s mature style. Its preservation at Versailles allows scholars to examine the interplay of political power and artistic representation in pre‑revolutionary France.