King Louis XIV
The first large-scale exhibition devoted to Louis XIV
at the
Two years in the making, Louis XIV, the Man and the King brings together 300 pieces, some of
which have not been shown in
A 17th-century painting of the construction of
“Politically, Louis XIV belongs to a system that is
outdated,” said Jean-Jacques Aillagon, the director of
“But it is through the arts and culture that he still
belongs to all of us.” Born in 1638, Louis ascended to the throne at the age of
four and reigned until his death in 1715, at the rare old age of
76.
He fought three major wars and married twice while
During his twenties, Louis decided to turn his father’s
hunting lodge at
All this he did with an eye for style and image.
The king surrounded himself with creative minds:
Moliere in theatre, Corneille and Racine in literature, Le Brun and Mignard in
painting, Lully in music, Hardouin-Mansart and Le Vau in architecture and Le
Notre in the art of gardens.
Louis always
loved something new
“Louis always loved something new. He was always
tearing down what he had just built, remodeling it according to the latest
fashion,” said Alliagon.
“He wore his black velvet clothes, dripping with
diamonds and made to impress.”
“He never was one to shy away from putting on a show as
the greatest king in the world.” The exhibition opens with one of the king’s
favorite works: a marble bust by Gian Lorenzo Bernini showing Louis at age 27,
wearing his trademark wig of cascading curls, his eyes gazing into the distance
as
Myth-making is a major theme of the exhibition as
witnessed in the massive seven-piece sculpture of “Apollo Tended by the Nymphs’
by François Girardon, the greatest sculpture of Louis” reign.
On loan from the Louvre museum, the most famous
portrait of Louis shows him draped in his symbols of power: his blue coronation
mantle with gold fleur-de-lys, Charlemagne’s sword and his sceptre.
Perhaps the most surprising portrait of Louis is a
profile made from a wax mask of his face, dating from around 1705. Toothless
and frail at about age 65, the king shown here is engaged in a battle against old
age.
Throughout his reign, Louis was a passionate lover of
music and until the age of 32, an outstanding dancer, taking on the role of
Apollo in two ballet productions in 1653 and 1662.
A ballet costume on display is the only survivor of the
period when French choreography flourished as an art.
Moliere’s comedies were a big hit.
The French playwright excelled at mocking the king’s
doctors and Louis was known to chuckle heartily during the performances.
As a collector and patron of the arts, Louis would make
visits to an artist’s studio or to a construction site part of his daily
routine.
He once famously interrupted a meeting of his
counselors to catch a glimpse of a painting by Le Brun that he declared a
masterpiece on the spot.
Curators Alexandre Maral and Nicolas Milovanovic said
it was the fist time that
Louis XIV, the
Man and the King runs until February
7. — AFP
Monday, 19 October 2009