Historians know him as the Sun King who ruled France for 72 years and made Versailles a European centre of power, but Louis XIV owes his royal grandeur to artists perhaps more than armies. The first large-scale exhibition devoted to Louis XIV at the palace of Versailles opens Tuesday, exploring the paintings, sculptures, furniture and jewellery that helped France’s most famous king shape his all-powerful image. Two years in the making, Louis XIV, the Man and the King brings together 300 pieces, some of which have not been shown in France since the 1789 Revolution.
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