The family of Philip V in 1738

Louis-Michel van Loo painted this grand family portrait of Philip V of Spain in 1738, showing the Bourbon king with his extended family in a composition that documented the dynastic succession Philip had established through two marriages. Van Loo, from the dynasty of French painters that included his uncle Jean-Baptiste and cousin Charles-André, served as court painter in Madrid from 1737 to 1752, producing the official dynastic portraits that gave visual form to the Spanish Bourbon succession. The portrait reflects the French influence that Philip V, born a French prince before inheriting the Spanish crown, brought to the Madrid court in painting, architecture, and ceremony. Such large dynastic portraits were political instruments as much as artistic objects, asserting the stability, continuity, and legitimacy of the ruling family for a Spanish public that had witnessed decades of war over the succession. The painting is held in the Museum of the History of France, an unusual home for a Spanish royal portrait that reflects the French origins of both the artist and the dynasty depicted.

Van Loo arranges the large royal family group with formal precision and careful attention to the elaborate court costumes and royal insignia. The rich palette and the grand scale demonstrate the French court portrait tradition adapted to the Spanish setting.