Louis XIV: The Construction of a Political Image

These representations of the King, his actions, and his benevolence contributed to the image of his grandeur and power.

Louis XIV was the most portrayed person in the kingdom. Multiple copies of his portraits were made to ensure that they were distributed throughout the realm.

It is no accident that Bernini, the architect and sculptor from Rome who created this likeness, agreed to come to France: he was attracted by the enthusiasm for creativity during the early years of the reign of Louis XIV, both in Paris and at Versailles.

Antoine Benoist, “the King’s painter and his only coloured wax sculptor”, made at least eleven portraits of Louis XIV. This one, from around 1705, is surprising in its uncompromising realism. The artist probably composed it using several impressions cast directly from the King’s face.

Images of Louis XIV were used both as a reminder and as a substitute for his presence.

Engravings were the easiest way for his images to be circulated and to be used in the media.

The press, notably La Gazette, immediately made use of these for promotional purposes.

In this painting, Fame holds a trumpet and presents the King’s name to the Temple of Immortality, written on a phylactery: “Ludovicus XIV victor immortalis”. She triumphs over Time, which is personified by an old man carrying a scythe.

Ancient heritage and Renaissance models provided a wealth of symbolic images and myths. The ideal of a god or a demigod inspired the image of the King.

There is one particular myth the King attributed to himself that takes on all meaning at Versailles: the sun.

The image of the god Apollo is connected with the sun, which is the centre of the universe, and the source of heat and harmony.

This parallel between the natural order and the political order was an obvious interpretation for the people of the time.

This topic can be seen on the walls of the Palace as well as in the gardens designed by le Nôtre.

The Grotto of Thetis, which no longer exists, was a reference to the cosmic myth of the sun’s path from dawn to dusk.

Diplomacy at Versailles:

Ambassadorial receptions held in the Hall of Mirrors were moments of refined festivities that were not to be missed at Court.

The fight against Protestantism:

Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes in 1685. Here the sculptor Thomas Gobert depicts the King crushing the heresy, which is represented by an old lady.

After the ancient myths and mythology came the new myth of Louis XIV, based on a modern expression of historical language.

The King used historical narrative to reaffirm his power over history.

Louis XIV was passionate about military glory. He continuously expanded France at the expense of the Habsburgs of Spain.

The War of Devolution (1667-1668), which ended with the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle and the Franco-Dutch War (1672-1678), which came to a close with the Treaty of Nijmegen gave France part of Flanders and Franche-Comté.

In 1671, Louis XIV decided to go back to war against the Dutch. Charles Le Brun immortalised this act of war in the Hall of Mirrors.

In 1674, Louis XIV conquered Franche-Comté for the second time. Charles Le Brun represented the King standing amid the chaos of war.

Pierre Mignard, a rival to Charles Le Brun, in turn painted Louis XIV at the siege of Namur in 1692.

Louis XIV explained the choice of his motto “Nec pluribus impar” to the Dauphin in his Memoirs:

“Those who saw me managing the cares of royalty with such ease and with such confidence induced me to add the sphere of the earth, and as its motto Nec pluribus impar, by which they meant to flatter the ambitions of a young king, in that with all my capacities, I would be just as capable of ruling still other empires as would the sun of illuminating still other worlds with its rays.”

The arts were organised in a pyramid that converged towards the King at the summit. This academic system was a response to a desire to regulate all forms of thought so that they would serve the glory of the Monarch. Charles Le Brun was the mastermind behind this system.

At the “Manufacture Royale des Meubles de la Couronne” (Royal Factory of Furniture to the Crown), over 250 people worked to produce furnishings, objects, and tapestries to decorate the royal residences.

Nothing was too good for the sovereign. Versailles was born from his desire and required full attention, becoming a place where everything was possible.

On his deathbed on 1 September 1715, Louis XIV is said to have had these last words:

“I depart, but the State will always remain".