Wearing a child´s dress of branched yellow fabric with silver adornments and the sash and cross of the Order of the Saint-Esprit, the future monarch rests his right hand on a small dog that stands atop a chair partially covered by a curtain. His gesture seeks to calm the animal, who is barking at a monkey on the other side of the prince. The small simian is attempting to grab his leash, which young Louis holds in his left hand. Born on February 15, 1710 in Versailles, the future Louis XV of France was the son of Louis, Duke of Burgundy and grandson of Louis XIV and Marie Adelaide of Savoy. He was proclaimed Dauphin on March 8, 1712 and took the French throne on September 1, 1714, dying at his birthplace on May 10, 1774.

This work was rescued from the fire at Madrid´s Alcázar Palace in 1734.