In 1688 the consuls and the maréchal de Villeroy of Lyon decided to erect an equestrian statue of Louis XIV. They commissioned Martin Van den Bogaert, better known under his French name Martin Desjardin (1640-1694), who was regarded as one of the most prestigious sculptors of the period to do so. In 1670 he formed part of the group of sculptors charged with the decoration of Versailles, before 1671 joining the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture and becoming it's director in 1681. Jules Hardouin - Mansart, architect of Versailles, who was to oversee the project, gave Desjardins his design and instructions, which Desjardins altered slightly. The sculpture was only erected in 1713 and finally destroyed in 1792.

Desjardins's model proved to be highly popular and several copies in reduced size and with minor variations were made. Desjardin himself probably made several copies during the casting of the original