The Sobieskis and Stuarts. Portrait of Prince Konstanty Sobieski, François de Troy, 1703

oil on canvas, 1703
private collection

The portrait of the youngest son of King Jan III and Queen Marie Casimire was painted in 1703 by the French painter François de Troy (1645–1730), portraitist of the Bourbons and the Stuarts. Unlike other portraits of the princes Sobieski, Konstanty is not dressed in the garments of a European aristocrat, but in a costume à la polonaise. The Polishness referred to by such clothing was intended to draw the attention of Louis XIV to the Sobieski family’s ambitions of regaining the Polish throne; in 1703, Konstanty’s older brother Jakub was a candidate for the elective throne of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, supported by King Charles XII of Sweden. In the context of contemporary European politics, an endorsement from the French court for the Sobieski family would have been crucial. De Troy exhibited the painting at the Paris Salon in 1704, at the same time as the widely-publicised, scandalous imprisonment of Jakub and Konstanty in Saxony by their rival, Augustus II. At the same time, the Stuart family and Jacobite court resided at Saint-Germain-en-Laye and maintained close relations with the French court at Versailles.

The portrait displays great skill with its bold colours, striking rendering of textures of fabrics, and relaxed pose of the young model.

De Troy also painted an excellent portrait of Prince Jakub Sobieski, the original of which is at the Wawel Royal Castle, whilst a replica, probably by de Troy himself and his workshop is on display at Wilanów.

The text was prepared on the basis of publications by Edward Corp and Piotr Piniński.