His childhood was marked by the political troubles of the Fronde, so throughout his reign he sought to maintain the unity of the kingdom at all cost, crushing any moves the aristocracy made to obtain extra power.

Louis XIV (1638-1715), the son of Louis XIII and Anne of Austria, was one of France's most important monarchs.

On the other hand he restored it and turned that half-fortress into a palace. Louvre was situated in the middle of that dirty loud Paris, if was surrounded by beggars and prostitutes, it was half-fortress and Louis had unpleasant associations because of Fronde.

He also tried to … This very rare piece is the work of Bernard Perrot (1638-1709), master of the Orléans glassworks under Louis XIV.

This oval medallion depicting a bust of Louis XIV in profile is made of cast glass, a process first developed to produce mirrors. In the king's bedchamber in Fontainebleau, Louis XIV sits in his armchair listening to Cardinal Chigi read the letter of apology sent by his uncle, Pope Alexander VII. Both the king and the cardinal are in the private part of the room, separated by the balustrade, while the attendants remain in the public area. King Louis XIV, who resided at the Louvre until his departure for Versailles in 1678, completed the Cour Carrée, which was closed off on the city side by a colonnade. In 1660 he …
Few rulers in world history have commemorated themselves in as grand a manner as Louis.

Back to all selections This portrayal of the monarch was to be found in numerous media of artistic expr… This selection serves to remind us that Louis XIV was also a great patron of the arts.
This bronze work is a reduced version of the equestrian statue of Louis XIV that stood in the Place Louis-le-Grand (today's Place Vendôme). Louis XIV. Signed and dated, "Painted by Hyacinthe Rigaud in 1701" on the base of the column supporting the goddess of Justice, and with Themis holding a set of scales in her hand, this vast portrait is that of an aging (63 years old) King, having reached the summit of his glory. To please Louis XIV, the Duc de La Feuillade had proposed the erection of a monumental full-scale statue of the king, commissioned from the sculptor Martin Desjardins. He ruled from 1643 to 1715 and was known as the Sun King. To provide a setting for the work, he redeveloped the Place des Victoires, which celebrated the king's victories in the Dutch w…

Although Louvre was situated in the capital and considered to be the royal palace, Louis didn't like it and always tried to move from it. Selected Works Louis XIV (1638-1715) The Musée du Louvre collections feature artworks relating to the Grand Siècle, Louis Le Grand, his entourage and the major figures who left their mark on art in the second half of the seventeenth century. With his support, Colbert established from the beginning of Louis' personal reign a centralised and institutionalised system for creating and perpetuating the royal image. The Old Louvre is a quadrilateral approximately 160 m (520 ft) on a side consisting of 8 ailes (wings) which are …

The King was thus portrayed largely in majesty or at war, notably against Spain.

Louis used court ritual and the arts to validate and augment his control over France. A masterpiece of French glassmaking, it celebrates, at the height of his glory, a ruler who did much to encourage the progress of the arts and crafts within his …