How Did Louis Xiv Influence Art

The Sun King also known as King Louis XIV ruled France from 1643 to 1715. Over his rule he ushered in many new ideas and polices for his vision of France. King Louis XIV Helped usher in the golden age of literature, ordered the Edict of Fontainebleau, and engaged France in war.

The 17th century of European history, colloquially known as the “Age of Crisis”, gave rise to a new form of government: absolutism. Religious wars, economic troubles, inflation, and new agricultural challenges such as the Little Ice Age wracked the nations of Europe and caused tremendous fear and uncertainty among the masses. Thus, as many felt that life itself was endangered, they were willing to accept the rise of a strong, independent ruler who might lead them from the darkness. In this way, absolutism emerged- a new form of monarchy based on a hereditary ruler with complete authority. Perhaps the most well known example of an absolute monarch in European history is Louis XIV, the ruler of France from 1643 to 1715.

These industries provided jobs but also helped to establish France as world leader in export. Louis XIV’s finance minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert organized the workers in companies that were regulated to ensure quality. This also prevented competition among each other, but helped them to compete against foreign imports. Louis XIV imposed a strict dress code that made certain there was ready need for French made clothing (Chrisman-Campbell, 2015). They would also speak of Louis XIV’s effect on the arts. Colbert and the king shared the belief of idolizing the monarchy through the arts. Louis XIV was an astute fan of the best literary and artistic figures of the time. The crown developed several schools, to include those for painting and sculpture, as well as inscriptions in 1663. French artists at Rome and science in 1666. Followed by the Paris Observatory in 1667 and the academies of architecture in 1671 and music in 1672. The literary Academie Francaise would also come under royal control in 1671 (Steingrad,

Louis XIV turned France around from an unorganized feuding country to one of the most organized, powerful, innovative monarchies in Europe. In addition, he managed to advance civil equality among the people by turning all the people into his loyal subjects (Norton, p.175). How did he do all this? The armed forces that had formerly been a private enterprise who had been fighting against each other or had hired themselves out for payment, was taken over and consolidated into one entity fighting, by the king for the king. He made war an activity of the state which produced peace and order in France while strengthening the fighting power of France against other states (Norton, p.175). In addition, he put soldiers in uniform, taught them how to march in step and housed them in barracks which assisted them in becoming more susceptible to discipline and control (Norton, p.175). There was now a hierarchy in place and was able to get a greater degree of government control that put him on the top as the commander in chief of the army due to his power and the creation of the first large civilian administration (Norton, p.176). This was the first time that ministers of war consisted of civilians and this grew the armies power exponentially. Louis XIV also overhauled the grandeur of France when he took an old village Versailles and turned it into the palace of Versailles that became known as one of the most splendid marvels in Europe so much so, that it became the envy of lessor kings.

Louis XIV was a French king known for his extension of absolute royal power and aggressive foreign policy, but the documents reveal another side to him. Louis wanted his son to represent all that was good of France. One significant piece of advice he gave to his son was to keep absolute authority instead of forfeiting any amount of power to a prime minister; another was to divide orders and responsibilities among his courtiers based on talent, rather than giving all the power and responsibility to one person (Doc 5). This suggests that Louis was a good father, because he wanted his son to be an effective ruler and keep the royal dynasty alive. Besides his fondness for keeping absolute power, Louis also held a particular regard of art and sculpture.

Louis XIV, also known an The Sun God, was the King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. 1His reign as ruler lasted for more than 72 years and even today it is considered as the longest reign of any monarch in European history. During his tenure as ruler, King Louie XIV established France as the most powerful country in Europe, as he maintained a very strong economy and played a significant role in influencing the politics of other European countries. Besides its usage in worldwide diplomacy, he also helped establish the French language in becoming the most widely used language in many subjects such as science and literature. The Sun God was known to be a very popular arts enthusiast and under his patronage, he commissioned and funded many artists whose works went on to become very famous and influential. One example includes his commissioning of the legendary Palace of Versailles located in Paris. Due to the contributions made by Louis XIV, people in the 17th century viewed France as the same way people all around the world today view the United States, a major superpower. After his death, Louis XIV was succeeded by his great-grandson Louis XV, who was just 5 years old at the time.

Louis XIV was born on September 5, 1638, and ruled as King of France and of Navarre from May 14, 1643 until his death at the age of 76. He took over the throne a few months before his fifth birthday, but didn't actually assume actual control of the government until his First Minister, Jules Cardinal Mazarin, died in 1661. He was to become King of France after his father, Louis XIII, died of tuberculosis. He achieved the role of king by ways of hereditary monarchy, which is one of the ways to become a ruler, as stated by Machiavelli. Louis XIV is known as the 'The Sun King' and also known as 'Louis the Great.' He ruled over France for seventy-two years, which is the longest reign of any French or any other major European ruler and

Although Louis XIV, also known as Louis the Great, brought death and destruction through his wars, there are many positive aspects of his reign, such as the creation of Versailles and the building of France’s national army. He did what had never been done before. He changed the lifestyle and the attitude of France by creating one of the most powerful monarchies ever to be built and at the same time, reassured all the nobility and other wealthy groups of their political and social standings. He made it clear that he was the final decision maker yet he still needed the help of the nobility and other authorities.

France was in trade relations with Italy. Louis XIV convinced the mirror-makers in Italy to come to France. Moreover, the Baroque period in Northern Europe had a different kind of trade. The Dutch, for instance, had slave trade. Going to economics, before France became a leading world power, it had suffered an economic decline during the reign of Louis XIV (1643). The greatest drain on the economy was probably caused by Louis’s insatiable architectural ambition. He spent so much in the beautification of the Palace of Versailles that the economic status was no longer balanced. In contrast, France replaced Italy as the artistic leader because of the standard that Versailles had set in European countries. Louis XIV was then considered one of the greatest rulers in

Some people think that King Louis XIV did more harm to France than good. They cite his lack of moderation in managing his money. They also point out that Louis denied religious liberties to the Protestants of France and tightened control over his Roman Catholic subjects by revoking the Edict of Nantes. They also claim Louis’ war efforts were very costly and drained the treasury of France. Some say his arrogance, including his emblem of the “Sun King”, turned “his” people away from him. They think that Louis only cared about himself and what he wanted and didn’t think about future France.

Louis became unpopular because he was so sure of himself. He felt that everyone should revolve around him, so he took the sun as his image, because they had just discovered that the world revolved around the sun. He persecuted Protestants. He also used bribery. King Louis XIV forced Protestants to pay extra taxes and forced the people who kept the Protestant religion to house soldiers whenever they were in town. He taxed the Protestants because they chose to believe in something different then his beliefs. Louis threw out the Edict of Nantes because it gave people the freedom to choose their own religion and he believed that people should have only one religion, Catholicism. This act took away the people's right to freedom of religion.

The nature of the French absolutist state was such that it did not limit the king by laws or rules dictated by the parlement or any of its representative bodies. It’s based on a belief of the divine right of kings, and Louis XIV takes this to heart in adopting the name the Sun King. The king did everything within his capabilities to exude power and control, by commissioning massive elegant portraits of himself, as well as constructing

Dance was an important amusement in court during this time period, with Louis XIV being the main patriot of art. Therefore, French originality of entertainment at court reaches its peak during the reign of the Sun King. Namely, the King viewed his playwright Moliere and Lully as political tools, whom he used to enforce his power in court. The connection between music and politics at the French court were devices used to represent the absolute importance of the god-like figure who was the King.

Louis proved willing to pay the price of being a strong ruler . He established a consci entious routine from which he seldom deviated, but he did not look upon his duties as drudgery since he judged his royal profession to be "grand, noble, and delightful." Eager for glory, Louis created a grand and majestic spec tacle at the court of Versailles (see Daily Life at the Court of Versailles later in the chapter). Consequently, Louis and his court came to set the standard for monar chies and aristocracies all over Europe. Less than fifty years after his death, the great French writer Voltaire used the title "Age of Louis XIV" to describe his history of Europe

Chapters two to eight follow each other chronologically, and examine how the image of Louis XIV changed during his reign. Chapter two pays particular attention to the different media used by the king and his 'image-makers '. This chapter is a good introduction to the different styles and genres used to create royal images, for example by comparing classicism and baroque and explaining recurrent allegories, metaphors and commonplaces used in the representations of Louis XIV. Chapters two to four give us the necessary background to understand the study of the relation between art and power in the time of Louis XIV. Whilst in chapter three, Peter Burke concentrates on how royal representations respond to contemporary events, he then is primarily concerned in chapter four with the construction of the structures of glorification of the king. The reader is introduced to two key figures in