This is a magnificent portrait miniature, preserved in excellent condition. A strikingly similar one painted by Charles Boit (1663-1727), is in the Louvre Museum, Inv. 35582. Both were painted after a work by Jean-Baptiste Santerre (1651-1717), now in the Château de Versailles. Philippe II, Duke of Orleans, Regent of France (1674 - 1723) Born in Saint-Cloud, he was the sonof Louis XIV?s brother, Philippe I of Orleans. He married Françoise-Marie de Bourbon in 1698. At first called the Duke of Chartres (1674-1701), and then Duke of Orleans (1701-1723), upon the death of Louis XIV he became Regent, because the late king's great-grandson was only five years old. He was Regent from 1715 to 1723. Since his regency was the last in the kingdom of France, he is still commonly referred to simply as «le Régent» and the period of his reign as «la Régence». A professed atheist, who read the satirical works of Francois Rabelais hidden inside a Bible during mass, and a man of reputedly libertine morals, he was also a man of many talents, acting in the plays of Moliere and Racine, composing the music for an opera, and he was also a gifted painter and engraver. As Regent, he had a great influence on the manners and style of the period. He was against censorship and ordered the reprinting of books banned under the reign of his uncle. In another reversal of Louis XIV's policy, Philippe formed an alliance with England, Austria, and the Netherlands, and fought a successful war against Spain that laid the foundations for a European peace. The Regent promoted education, making the Sorbonne tuition-free, and opened the Royal Library to the public. After the British Parliament passed the Longitude Act in 1714, offering a prize for the best means of determining longitude at sea, the Regent followed suit, promoting and encouraged research in this area. He died at the Palace of Versailles and was buried in the city of his birth, Saint-Cloud.