Communism: The Reign Of King Louis XIV

The glare of the sun blazed over France for seven decades during the most elaborate rule in European history. King Louis XIV was the sovereign king of France at age four, born on September, 5th 1638. His reign lasted longer than any other monarchy in history from 1643-1715. He was the god given child to his mother Queen Anne of Austria. She held the title Regency during her son’s younger years. France was in a total eclipse state politically with nineteen million subjects and a weak financial situation. The sovereign suffered from neglect from his mother, she allowed servants to raise and see to the day to day needs of his majesty. During an outing he nearly drowned due to a lack of supervision. Although evidence shows strong neglect his mother

instilled a lasting Catholic ideals that shaped his entire adulthood. This was against his father King Louis XIII wishes, his last testament shown that he wished parliament to rule until his son’s coronation day with a council. The Queen would head this council. Instead the Queen when to Parris on May, 13th 1643 with her King dead Queen Anne had her late husband’s wishes annulled. That the King had the God given divine right and was to be the absolute monarch of France. Queen Anne was declared sole Regent of France until 1653 battling an onslaught of ministry and parliament members who saw the succession differently. The Fronde was a collaboration between the nobility and minsters of France created to strengthen the rule of Paris and parliament and limit the rule of Queen Anne of Austria and Jules Raymond the Cardinal Mazarin. This internal upheaval brought the young sovereign embarrassment when the nobility and their hired swords broke into the royal palace to be sure their King was still in Paris while the then ten year old Louis XIV was feigning sleep. His majesty even suffered hunger during his exile from his capitol Paris, France. During this time, Cardinal Mazarin goes into exile as well and returns victoriously with a private army to set France a right. With the Fronde ended, Mazarin educated the young king on history, politics and the day to day task of ruling an empire. This whole ordeal would later shape the Sun King to exhibit repression towards the nobility and his ministry and heighten his extravagant absolute monarchy. In 1654, at age sixteen, Louis XIV was of age however did not take control of France until age twenty three, 1661.
With total monarchial control King Louis XIV used all his power to control all aspects of France life.

The appointment of Jean-Baptiste Colbert strengthened the economy through manufacturing and industrialism. Which gave France financial independence, but as soon as the finance minister could generate wealth, the Sun King would spend large amounts revenue to demonstrate his absolute reign. Jean-Baptiste Colbert’s responsibility as finance minister included administration of the royal household, the navy and the merchant marines. He credited expanding industry, lowering unemployment and streamlining taxation. He granted himself the responsibility of furthering the propaganda of King Louis XIV’s divine absolute centralized form of monarchy to the subjects of France. This gave parliament, nobility and ministry assurance in their King’s strength to perpetuate France as a superpower. His guidance on artistic and cultural of France. At the age of fourteen, Louis XIV was personally revolved in participating in the liberal arts. While participating in a ballet dressed as the Greek God, Apollo of the Sun. This set the foundation for his notoriety as the Sun King. He often referred to himself as the sun, and his subjects would be the planets in elliptical rotation around him. He chose the symbol of the sun as his personal symbol fitting with his celestial personality. Louis XIV had ceremonies held marking the royal rising in the morning and setting in the evening in comparison with

solar events.
Art commissioned by the Sun King gave the subject of France of his full power residing in state.

Propaganda being an important technique for subservient subjects Louis XIV and his advisor commissioned several large personal works demonstrating his majesty’s grandeur. King Louis XIV commissioned a famous work of art. Hyacinthe Rigaud (1659-1743) Louis XIV (1701) oil on canvas, 9’2” x 6’3” housed in Musee du Louvre, Paris. It was due to be a present to his grandson Philip V of Spain. The King after its completion loved the piece so much, he added it to his private collection and commissioned copies for family and European aristocrats. The work is a proclamation to the absolute reign of the Sun King. He is adorned in fine royal blue coronation robes hung loosely about the shoulders, and established as the center of the portrait. Being sixty three years old when this work was created the Sun King shows off his youthful toned legs due to his activities as a ballet dancer most of his life. Wearing stylish red elevated shoes to give him a larger than life stature for his 5’4” frame. Rigaud idealized his size to please his highness over reality. His eyes are looking boldly at the viewer slightly turned with a wide stance. This gives a lifelike appearance quality projected to the viewer. His royal jeweled sword hanging on his side symbolizes a seasoned warrior. His left hand placed on his hip, while his right hand entertained the royal scepter with the crown on a stool closely to

symbolize the state. This seasoned king having such magnificent hair maybe due to a wig or idealization over true reality. After completion of the painting the Sun King found it to be such a liking he ordered it to be hung over the throne and in his absence it was a proxy for him. Subjects were expected to give the same respects to the painting as to his person.
The Louvre (1659-1680) was built initially as a fortress in the 12th century. Later in the 13th century it was donned a royal residence. In the 17th century it was remodeled by King Louis XIV being his first architectural project. His adviser Colbert eliminated to demonstrate the power of the throne by changing the style from High Renaissance to the French Baroque style. The king employed three French architects Claude Perrault (1613-1688), Louis Le Vau (1612-1670) and Charles Le Brun (1619-1690) to resurrect the east facade. The architects remodeled and expanded a central two corner columnar pavilions resting on a stately podium. The central pavilion is in the form of a temple on both sides giant paired columns surrounds the face. The roofline is encompassed with a banister interrupted by the central pediment. This revamped the gothic style to a modern baroque style.
The Palace at Versailles (1661-1678) was a demonstration of arrogance done in style that no other monarchy can compare with such grandeur. The palace was built ten miles from Paris. The Sun King commissioned Charles Le Brun to design and build his new royal palace. The king overseeing the plans for the creation of his consolidated court. These grounds initially constructed by Louis XIII who kept a simple hunting chateau with accommodations for family and a small entourage. The Versailles Palace would on completion incorporate the royal family, nobility, government officials, ministry, military guards, personal servants and even couriers. Keeping all government activities isolated and in the king’s control to guard against revolt and threatening ideology. The Palace is a separate architectural phenomenon. All aspects of the interior and exterior were carefully designed with the ideas of elegance and luxury in mind. Louis Le Vau was its architect, Charles Le Brun headed painting and decoration and Andre Le Notre was the leading landscape architect. The heaviest construction of the palace included the Hall of Mirrors, There are seventeen arched windows facing the gardens and they reflect in the seventeen arches covered with three hundred and thirty seven mirrors creating a baroque arched effect. In order to save cost Jean-Baptiste Colbert brought Venetian workers into France to produce the products. The mirrored arches are separated by marble pillars that are decorated with gilded sculptures. The formal gardens surrounding the palace change from the stone architecture of the palace to natural living art. Here hedges and shrubs are arranged in geometric units no two units are the same. The garden was planned with formality and scientific formation in mind. Several statues placed throughout the garden give overwhelming reference to the dedication of the Sun King Louis XIV. Apollo Attended by the Nymphs of Thetis (1664-1670), Grotto of Thetis, park of Versailles, Versailles, France. This an allegory piece by Francois Girardon (1628-1715) and Thomas Regnaudin (1622-1706) representing King Louis XIV. Apollo is being compared to the king by being centralized in the statue with nymphs attending to his every need as the subjects of France would to Louis XIV. It places the king on a godly and symbolic level to be immortalized in a magnanimous piece of art. The Royal Chapel (1698) was commissioned by the Sun King to Jules Hardouin-Mansart (1646-1708) for the Versailles Palace. The interior of the chapel and decorations were done by Antoine Coypel (1661-1722) it is a rectangular building with centralized apse located as high nave. The light that enters its windows does not exemplify Italian baroque style. The interior is illuminated brightly and evenly. The column supported arcade gives a royal definition with Corinthian columns. His majesties royal pew is located at the rear of the chapel giving quick escape to the King’s apartment housed within the palace.
His advisors were aligned to dominate the frequency of media and propaganda used through art patronage. King Louis XIV designated himself the Sun King of France with a centralized government and absolute monarchy of the land. His authority and determination to lead France as a superpower as the God given divine right ruler was made publicly known through his magnificent and costly commissions. The King being more interested in liberal arts than politics used most of the resources of France for his own egoistic gain. His patronage is unmatched to present day by any other governing body in history. Three hundred years later his extravagance and memory are still recognized and used as examples in everyday life.