Prince Ferdinand Philippe of Orléans, Duke of Orléans

Ingres finished this full-length portrait in 1842, when its sitter still seemed to be the future of France. Ferdinand Philippe, Duke of Orleans, was the eldest son of King Louis-Philippe and heir to the throne, painted here in a general's uniform as the confident face of the July Monarchy. On the 13th of July that same year he was thrown from his carriage on the road out to Neuilly and died a few hours later, at 31. The picture of the coming king suddenly became a memorial. His grieving parents had Ingres and his studio repeat the likeness again and again for palaces and public buildings, and this large standing version was made for Versailles. Six years later the monarchy his father built collapsed in the revolution of 1848, and the boy who inherited the Duke's claim never reigned either.