engraving intaglio on steel representing the portrait of Louis IX known as Saint Louis. Without exact dating but from the 1850s. The portrait shows the king with a crown and a richly decorated royal mantle.

Louis IX, known as “the Prudhomme” and more commonly known as Saint Louis, is a Capetian king of France born April 25, 1214 in Poissy and died August 25, 1270 in Carthage, near Tunis. He reigned for over 43 years, from 1226 until his death. Considered a saint during his lifetime, he was canonized by the Catholic Church in 1297. Forty-fourth king of France and ninth from the direct Capetian dynasty, he is the fourth or fifth child and second known son of King Louis VIII, known as "Louis the Lion", and of Queen Blanche of Castile, from whom he received a very strict and very pious education throughout his childhood. The eldest surviving member of his siblings, he inherited the crown on the death of his father, when he was only twelve years old. He was crowned on November 29, 1226 in Reims Cathedral, but it was the Queen Mother who, in accordance with the will of Louis VIII, exercised regency of the Kingdom until the new monarch reached the age of majority. He leads a reign inspired by the values ​​of Christianity which helps to found the idea that spiritual and political powers can be embodied by a single man. It attenuates the excesses of feudalism in favor of the notion of the common good and develops royal justice, where the sovereign appears as “the supreme justice”. In this way, he gradually moved France from a feudal monarchy to a modern monarchy, no longer based only on the personal relationships of the king with his vassals, but on those of the king as head of state with his "subjects".

The Capetians form a princely dynasty of Frankish origin, descended from the Robertians, who acceded to the throne of France in 987 upon the election of Hugues Capet. His descendants ruled France without interruption until 1792 (with the direct branch until 1328 then the younger branches of the Valois until 1589 and the Bourbons), then again from 1814 to 1848 with an interruption during the Hundred Days. Louis-Philippe (fourth Capetian house of Orléans) is the last sovereign of the dynasty in France. The Capetian dynasty is the dynasty that most influenced the people of Europe during the Middle Ages. Mainly based in France, the Capetians ruled over: the Kingdom of France, the Kingdom of Portugal, the Kingdom of Aragon, the Kingdom of Navarre, the Latin Empire of Constantinople, the Kingdom of Poland, the Kingdom of Hungary (successive to that of the Magyars/Avars), a duchy in the Holy Roman Empire and one in the Kingdom of England. The Capetians traditionally form the third dynasty of kings of France (also called "third race"), after the Merovingians and the Carolingians. They also reign over other European states (like Portugal, Burgundy, Naples, Spain, Hungary, Poland, Luxembourg, etc.) and the world (like the Courtenays who were emperors of Constantinople, Belgium). Furthermore, with only one degree of female descent, all European princely dynasties are Capetian.

Please look carefully at the photos. engraving In completely good condition, with some stains and foxing.

Your advantages & guarantees: Consolidation of shipping costs in the event of multiple purchases (Ask for the total before paying). Authenticity guaranteed. Careful shipping between two rigid supports or rolled in a tube, to reduce any risk of deterioration during transport (Will be shipped in the original envelopes if any). Legal return if any dissatisfaction! Quick response to any request (information, research, negotiations, etc.). Modification of shipping method possible. All the services and guarantees of a professional seller who loves his products. For the French Overseas Territories, contact me for a more precise (and more advantageous!) shipping cost figure.

Thank you for looking at the photos. You buy what you see. Generally speaking (unless otherwise specified), engravings and other prints will be delivered unframed. I do not sell reproductions! You are about to acquire a real authentic print, please be aware that you are not buying a new product but a work on paper with experience and a sometimes eventful past.