The Glory of the King through garden and shows, the imagery of King Louis XIV in majesty.
If you prefer video, a short explanation is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xtd2qwUNlkc
« Vous pouvez, Messieurs, jugé de l’estime que je fais de vous, puisque je vous confie la chose au monde qui m’est la plus précieuse qui est ma gloire. Je suis sûr que vous ferez des merveilles. Je tâcherai de ma part de vous fournir la matière qui mérite d’être mise en œuvre par des gens aussi habiles que vous êtes ».
Thus, Louis the 14th explains to the Petite Académie that working for the King’s glory is to rebuild the image of the monarch. The glory is the celebrity, the reputation, and the ostentation of actions and deserved merits by a large public. The Sun King is a character who exercises his sovereign authority over different people. This is why imagery of the glorious King in majesty is essential to ensure its reputation during his reign. In the 17th century, France is influential in Europe diplomatically and culturally thanks to her victorious war. France has to keep a strong image inside its borders but also faced the European monarchies.
How the King’s image is important to maintain the power of France’s kingdom during the reign of Louis XIV?
No time to read all, there is a short here: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/KWvAvnLC4As
The French century of Louis 14th : an imitation of the Ancient Time, Louis 14th omniscient and invicible
First of all, we will see the particularity of the French century of the Sun King which is a sort of gold age. The King is represented alone. It is a figure who wants to be incomparable, while keeping in the representations of the monarch particularities with Antiquity.
In the hall of Versailles castle, we find Louis the 14th in the center of the palace. He is omniscient and invincible. The place is calm and far away from lines of communication. He is the only hero of the war and represented alone. The symbol of Apollon, the god of the sun is also often used by artists to show the Sun King. Thus, Louis 14th is represented in majesty like a king of war inspired by mythological symbols of Roman emperors. This is the glory of the King highlighted as royal propaganda.
Building the image of the King. Petite Académie of Colbert.
Secondly, we will see how the image of the King is built and the role of the Petite Académie. The image of the King is thinking by the Petite Académie where Colbert, supervisor general of finances and superintendent of buildings was at the helm in 1663. He supervises the art, sculptures, and inscriptions. The Petite Académie is part of the Academie française where most advisers are trained in the art of rhetoric, that is to say, in the construction of the political image and official history. Their members are Le Brun, consultant for painting and sculpture, and Charles Perrault, responsible for the inscriptions and belles lettres.
This is the artistic mobilization of the power of the French King in Versailles. We talk about the Bureaucratization of state sponsorship. The goal is the omnipresence of the King by the visual. The King likes to be seen. We come especially to the court to be seen by the King and receive honors. Louis the 14th invites the court to be seen. He uses Magnificent shows with fireworks in the gardens such as les Plaisirs de l’île enchantée in 1664.
Forget the present and have a journey to Louis 14th time every summer in the palace of Versailles!
Nevertheless, the state budget decreases due to war spending. This is why, Colbert spend the state money only on areas that he considers useful as art, essential for the image and the glory of the King. In 1662, in correspondence with Chapelain, he explains the use of the arts in the conservation of « la splendeur des entreprises du Roy ». By the way, copies and casts are used in order to save the state budget.
Jardins à la française
Finally, we will see how French power is represented through its gardens. The gardens of the King in Versailles, so-called jardins à la française ask a lot of engineering because Versailles is built on swamps. Water control is one of the key issues. One of the solutions is the Marly engine. It is a wheel system that climbs over an aqueduct to bring water from the Seine to Versailles. However this a failure because it is too expensive and not sufficient. We also regularly create buildings that we make disappear like the cave of Thétys.
The gardens are a big business. The marble blocks are transported from the south of France. The main lines of the French garden are made with perspectives, fountains, sculptures, and colonnades. There are under Louis the 14th, 176 vases (94 marble, 42 in bronze, 40 in lead). André le Nôtre is managing the sculptures in the Gardens of Versailles. This is the first major program of sculptures in the gardens.
To sum up, under the reign of Louis the 14th, the image of the King is a major element in the maintenance of the power of the kingdom of France, through the establishment of a real state enterprise, which works to ensure the staging of the glory of the king. Although, Louis the 15th and the 16th used the same model. There is no room for other sovereigns after the Sun King. At the king’s funeral, they say “The king is dead, long live the king!”. Thus, the body has disappeared but the king remains, Louis, the 14 exceeds his own reign.
Bibliography:
Dictionnaries: • CNTRL• BELY Lucien, Dictionnaire de l’Ancien Régime, Royaume de France XVI-XVIIIes, PUF, 1996• BELY L., Louis XIV, Robert Laffont, Paris, 2015• BLUCHE François, Dictionnaire du Grand Siècle, Le Grand Livre du Mois, 2005
General works:• PETIFILS J-C., Louis XIV, Perrin, Saint Amand Montrond, 2008
Specialized works :• MEYER Véronique, Pour la plus grande gloire du roi, Louis XIV en thèses, Presses universitaires de Rennes, Centre de recherche du château de Versailles, 2017• ZIEGLER, Hendrik. Louis XIV Et Ses Ennemis : Image, Propagande Et Contestation. Paris Versailles Saint Denis : Centre allemand d’histoire de l’art Centre de recherche du Château de Versailles Presses Universitaires de Vincennes, 2013.
Reviews:• SABATIER Gerard. La gloire du roi. Iconographie de Louis XIV de 1661 à 1672. In: Histoire, économie et société, 2000, 19ᵉ année, n°4. Louis XIV et la construction de l’État royal (1661-1672) pp. 527-560; doi : https://doi.org/10.3406/hes.2000.2134 https://www.persee.fr/doc/hes_0752-57… • SARMANT, Thierry ; GAUME, Luce (Hrsgg.): La place Vendôme. Art, pouvoir et fortune. Paris 2002, S. 32-41• Moulin Jacques. Le Nôtre et le décor sculpté des jardins : Fontainebleau, Vaux-le-Vicomte et Versailles au XVIIe siècle. In: Bulletin Monumental, tome 172, n°4, année 2014. pp. 293-307; doi : https://doi.org/10.3406/bulmo.2014.10485 https://www.persee.fr/doc/bulmo_0007-… Boreau de Roincé Gabrielle. Les jardins de Versailles au XVIIIe siècle, théâtre de privilèges et lieu de divertissement. In: Bibliothèque de l’école des chartes. 2012, tome 170, livraison 1. Versailles. De la résidence au musée Espaces, usages, institutions XVIIe-XXe siècle Études et documents réunis par Fabien Oppermann. pp. 155-182; doi : https://doi.org/10.3406/bec.2012.464184 https://www.persee.fr/doc/bec_0373-62…
