Theatrum Principium

The French monarch is shown in an ornate cap and doublet, framed by an architectural structure adorned with fruit and symbolic medallions. To his left, a draped woman holds a lit lamp representing spiritual guidance, while a skeleton on the right holds back a shroud to reveal the King's mortality. Below the portrait, an open grave lies beneath a plaque, emphasizing the moralizing Latin verses concerning the choice between a life of virtue or vice.

This work is a classic 'Mirror for Princes' and a memento mori, reflecting the Neoplatonic and Stoic values of the late Valois court. It serves as a philosophical reminder that even a divinely appointed sovereign is subject to time and must pursue the 'light' of virtue to ensure the soul's immortality.