The son of Jean-Honoré Fragonard enjoyed a brilliant career marked with numerous commissions.  He specialised in scenes of national history, a theme that had experienced renewed interest from the State and from art lovers.  This work is a study for a huge painting used to decorate the ceiling of a room in the Palais du Louvre (now used for the Milo plaques).  The theme was borrowed from the life of François 1st who had regained favour at the beginning of the century: on the eve of the Battle of Marignan in 1515, the King is knighted by his famous captain as a mark of respect.
François Dubois (Paris, 1786 – Paris, 1851)