March 27th, 1785: Detail from an allegory depicting the birth of Louis Charles de France (1785-1795)

This simple yet charming allegory depicts the infant Louis Charles de France--then 'just' the duc de Normandie, as his elder brother Joseph was still alive and thus the dauphin--being presented to the state of France on his birthday: March 27th, 1785. Marie Antoinette can be seen on her birth bed with an enraptured material expression, watching as her second son is handed over to France.

image: Detail from Lucine présente à la France Monseign. le duc de Normandie né à Versailles le 27 mars 1785. 

credit: Bibliothèque nationale de France, département Estampes et photographie