The Reign Of Louis Xv And Disappearing Toward The End Of The 18th Century

Still, the negative aspects of France’s rule under King Louis XIV far outweigh the positive ones. His reign can best be described by the statement “L’état, c’est moi,” (I am the state) that is attributed to him. King Louis XIV spent state money to pay for his own luxuries and monuments that glorified his image. It was also customary for the artists King Louis XIV sponsored to include direct or indirect allusions to him in their productions thus creating a god-like image of him. The Palace of Versailles alone used 5% of France’s income. This liberal

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.

Rococo was an art style that originated in France in the mid-17th century. Rococo itself evolved from the earlier Baroque period, and shared several elements with it. Indeed, Rococo is often referred to as Late Baroque for this reason. Both placed a heavy emphasis on ornate, highly sculpted detail and ornamentation, especially in regards to architecture and sculpture. Likewise both featured artwork rooted in more realistic depictions of people. However, they were also different in several important ways, and reflected changing social attitudes. Where Baroque was rooted in religion and promoted by the Catholic Church as a response to the Protestant Reformation, Rococo flourished during the “Age of Enlightenment”, a time where

2Louis XV, also known as Louis the Well Beloved, was ruler of France from 1715 to 1774 and like his great-grandfather, he also made great advancements in the field of art as he introduced the Rococo style to Europe. This new elegant and decorative style

During 1780s to 1790s France was in total chaos. France was ruled by the Bourbon family King Louis XVI from 1754 to 1793, it was an absolute monarch and they had absolute power and did not share it with a legislature. The situation was already bad before Louis XVI began his reign, but situation got worse. In the end, there was a revolution in France and a vast amount changes to the society and the government of France. Louis XVI himself was executed and killed; while France was established as a democratic country. There were different reasons for Louis's downfall: social, economic, political conditions. Also reasons such as the Age of Enlightenment when some philosophers had new ideas of how the country should be ruled, the inequalities

French baroque art is sometimes regarded as an expression of absolutism because Louis XIV used his power and control over art and the artistic freedom of the people to use for his own personal gains. “Louis XIV especially manipulated art to serve as propaganda for his absolutist policies”(738). Art was obviously popular at the time and he knew art would be the best way to “convey the majesty and strength of the monarchy”(738). An example of the control he was trying to enforce is shown in Le Brun’s “The Expressions”(746). The piece was to be “used as formulas by the artists to establish narratives in their paintings that could be easily read by viewers”(746). The king wanted so much control over every detail. I believe this is a preventive to avoid having an artist depict a scene involving the King or anything related to the King and his power that has an “unclear” facial expression that could be viewed as a negative connotation towards the King and his ruling. That situation is not something Louis XIV would have been okay with, which is why he tried to control it. “Because…vast…projects glorified the French King, we are tempted to think of French art in the age of Louis XIV as merely an expression of absolute rule”(738). If there was any speculation about an artist’s work that didn’t obviously glorify the King, he wasn’t going to allow it, which is basically absolutism.

At this time Paris was fun and careless before the French Revolution of 1789 released its horrors on it. But the outbreak of the revolution changed everything, and with all of the violence around, she fled France with her daughter to find safety in Italy (Moffat and Mossman). When she returned, Paris was a completely different place. However, the demand for her art had not changed. Vigee Le Brun is considered a painter of the rococo period. Rococo is best described as an eighteenth century art style that places importance on the carefree life rather than grand heroes. Originally the rococo fashion started in Paris, where Vigee Le Brun was born. It changed the way people looked at art and the world in general (Bleiberg). Vigee Le Brun not only used the rococo style in her art, but also to influence fashion, persuading women to wear simple, high waist shifts, which would be an important stepping stone in changing fashion forever. By refusing to put powder in her hair, she made being natural beautiful. If it weren’t for her innovations we might still be wearing Victorian gowns and wigs. She made fashion and styles for young women, such as herself, more daring and interesting (Steadman).

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

The reign of Louis XIV was the longest of the modern era, and during his time, France reached remarkable achievements in art and architecture, such as the Palace of Versailles. Louis XIV was responsible for creating the lavish complex that was filled with Baroque interiors and surrounded by French and English gardens. In its later years, it was further renovated for other kings then given to the Republic for public use. Through its elaborate ornamentation and massive scale, the Palace of Versailles represents the glory of the Sun King and expresses the power of the French monarchy.

Louis XIV had a passion for glory and used it to fight four wars because he was motivated by personal and dynastic considerations.

The 17th and 18th centuries were a tumultuous time for France and its colonies, as the slave trade grew and power shifted from nobles to the king, and the system of government slowly changed. The goal of absolutism was stability, order, and to achieve a unified state, building the power and strength of France, and ultimately of its Sun King. However, this shift in power caused tension which came to a peak in 1789 at the start of the French Revolution with the storming of the Bastille, as well as delegitimized the authority of the monarchy. Louis XIV curbed the power of the nobles in order to create a standing army and absorb more power for an absolutist regime, and instead created intendants, or nobles of the robe chosen from the upper middle class, to help manage the country. The cruelty of the slave trade in the New World caused a growing unrest among the French people. This in combination with the absolutist rule beginning with Louis XIV in France angered many, resulted in revolts breaking out, and eventually led to the French Revolution.

The nobility of the Kingdom of France has been evaluated by various scholars of history. There is something to be said, however, for those who chronicled their impressions while living them in the 17th and 18th centuries. The excerpts of Charles Loyseau’s A Treatise on Orders, written in 1610, and Isabelle de Charriere’s The Nobleman, written in 1763 provide two very different glimpses on the French nobility from differing time periods. From these two accounts, it is clear that there was a marked shift in the way some viewed the nobility and their role in the operation of the French state. While Loyseau praises the nobility nearly wholeheartedly,

When Louis XVI became King of France in 1774, he was only 20 years old. As the years

Citation- Price, Munro. The Road from Versailles: Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, and the Fall of the French Monarchy. New York: St. Martin 's Press, 2003.

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