Versailles - Absolute Architecture Of An Absolute King Story of the Versailles Palace and Its Construction through an Art Historical View how Did Louis Xiv Plan The Construction? where Can We Find The King In The Architecture?

France ,before 1789, was governed by an absolute monarchy. In an absolute monarchy the king’s word was law and only person who could change the powers was the monarch himself (tames). King Louis XIII and Cardinal Richelieu altered France's feudal monarchy into an absolute monarchy. Absolutism within France was a political system correlated with kings such as Louis XIII and, especially Louis XIV. A succession of wars drove them to tax massively and borrow heavily. The nobles and priest did not pay taxes, and approximately the whole taxation fell on the peasants and the middle class. They [middle class] noted themselves as the most useful part of society, because they worked and established wealth. The new king, Louis XVI, was too dense to provide

It is often debated whether or not the reign of King Louis XIV had a positive or negative effect on France. Although there were improvements during his reign in transportation, culture, and national defense, there were far more negative aspects. He depleted the national treasury with his liberal spending on personal luxuries and massive monuments. His extreme fear of the loss of power led to poor decision making, which caused the court to be of lower quality. King Louis XIV’s disastrous rule brought about a series of effects that influenced the French Revolution in the following century.

Louis XIV, the ruler of France from the late seventeenth century to the early eighteenth century, claimed, “I am the state.” He considered this to be absolutism. His goal, also acquainted with absolutism, was, “one king, one law, one faith;” Furthermore, Louis wanted to promote religious unity, royal dignity, and security of the state. In order to achieve this goal, he had to rule with a firm hand, laying down the law for all to see. Louis XIV’s absolutism fostered in four major parts: the building of Versailles to control the nobility, the breeding of a strong military, the improvement of France’s economy, and, while quite harsh, the brutal extinction of religious toleration.

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.

Of all the absolute rulers in Europe, by far the best example of one, and the most powerful, was Louis XIV of France. Although Louis had some failures, he also had many successes. He controlled France’s money and had many different ways to get, as well as keep his power, and he knew how to delegate jobs to smart, but loyal people.

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.

After being ruled by a prime minister for so long, France needed some changes. That is exactly what Louis the XIV would bring to France. In an age of separation, Louis wanted to start a unification process. He started this by giving himself sole power and also only having one religion for the country. The king is always the center of attention good or bad. Louis was prepared to take the good with the bad, and handled it well. He emphasized the king as the center of attention. While some see him as egotistical and greedy, Louis was one king who knew how to make improvements.

     One of the most important factors to consider during this time period is the reign of Louis XIV. His idea of the monarchy was one of the reasons why the French government had failed and created turmoil for the citizens of France. Louis XIV enjoyed the royal life very much and very fervently. He spent more of his reign enjoying himself and his life rather than ruling the country.

King Louis XIV was born on September 5, 1638 in a place called Saint-Germaine-en-Laye, France (Louis XIV Biography). Louis XIV became King of France in 1643 and he began to reform France and make changes to France. Louis XIV ideology was the ideology of an absolute monarch. Louis XIV believed that all kings ruled by divine right. He believed that God gave him the authority to rule France. He believed he was the French state and that he should be in complete control. Cardinal Richelieu was a man who helped guide Louis XIV when he became king. Richelieu pushed for absolutism and Catholicism when Louis was King. Richelieu also made sure that Catholicism remained strong in France. Cardinal Jules Mazarin was a man who took over after Richelieu and one who Louis listened to very dearly. Mazarin told Louis to “Distrust everyone”. Mazarin told Louis to keep his ideas to himself and to keep everything secret. King Louis XIV had a group of people or a “Cabinet” that Louis trusted. Mazarin told Louis that there were two ways to achieve glory. One was to build a large and expensive palace and another way was to increase your countries territory. King Louis XIV built a huge palace called “The Palace of Versailles”. Louis’ palace was very beautiful inside and outside and he spent millions of dollars of this palace. Inside, gold was everywhere, gorgeous pictures and paintings were on the walls. Louis XIV was referred to as the “Sun King” because Louis stated “I am the state”. Louis said

Through Louis XIV wars his people groups economy was backing off and getting to be distinctly poor, so that left his kin to not need him any longer. During his time a head he cleared out a positive foundation and a legacy of the French Empire. Lord Louis was known as the most effective leader of his time.

King Louis XIV inherited the throne when he was only five years old. King Louis XIV of France, the absolute monarch, changed France's military and government. Hebuilt the Palace of Versailles, enhanced France's military, and involved most of Europe in war.

He reigned in France for 72 years, and during 54 of them he personally controlled the French government. The 17th century is labeled as the age of Louis XIV. Since then his rule has been hailed as the supreme example of absolutism government. He epitomized the ideal of kingship. During his reign France stabilized and became one of the strongest powers in Europe.

The Palace of Versailles, a great architecture feat that took 36,000 workers and 20 years to complete. A testament to Louis XIV power an ambition it shows the height of French baroque principles. As such, it should be noted that Louis XIV did establish the French classical baroque style that we see today. within the palace. As you first reach the palace, you will see the grandeur and the grandiose scale of the place. It is designed from outside to be shown as a place of higher superiority and class. But as you step inside you will see the elegance of the interior. With the interior. as the one shown in the place of Versailles, the elegant interior is shown to be one of the major important things to classify an architecture as baroque. Also,

Day-to-day life in the palace you would wake early in the morning before Louis XIV woke up to see him was up. If you were Louis XIV you would wake up to all your servants watching you. The man with the highest rank of nobility would hand the king his shirt. Reason why they watch him wake up is because they consider him as the Sun King and they want to see the “sun rise”. Another reason he is the Sun King is that everyone revolves around him like the sun in our solar system. People did many things in the Palace like dancing, hunting, and playing cards. Though I am pretty sure they always let him win. Also he would take many walks in the garden everyday with his servants. Everyday his cloths would get fancier and fancier as well as a haircut also a shave everyday. Each of the salons was name after each of the seven known planets in our solar system. There was also a grand theater that all the aristocrats would go to and watch Louis XIV perform.

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