Portrait of Louis XIV

Portrait of Louis XIV

Hyacinthe Rigaud’s “Portrait of Louis XIV” serves as an idyllic artistic illustration of the mechanisms of Absolutism which Louis XIV established in France. The monarch, who was well into his sixties during the time of this portrait, is depicted in the classic style of an Absolutist ruler. His robes are accessorized with gold "Fleur de Lis" crests, symbolic of the French monarchy and nation. A golden sword is slung by his waist, representing his control over the military and the scepter in his right-hand serves as yet another reminder of his power over France, with another "Fleur de Lis" on the bottom edge of it.
During his reign, Louis XIV made every effort to create a centralized government with an intricate bureaucracy revolving around himself. He had moved the royal palace from within Paris to just outside of it, at Versailles. The palace housed many of the bureaucrats who served him as well as institutions for the arts, such as an opera. Louis XIV wanted all of his constituents to understand that all matters involving the state were centralized around him, including the government, the military, and patronage of the arts.
Absolutism was a widely developing concept in Europe by this time. Many distinct features of Absolutism had been outlined and upheld in Thomas Hobbes’s “Leviathan,” in which Hobbes ultimately theorized that the best form of government is one which is unified and substantially centralized around an Absolute monarch. Louis XIV nearly perfectly represents the type of ruler which Hobbes would argue: strengthens the state and the well-being of the nation through Absolutism.

Hyacinthe Rigaud

Musée du Louvre via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hyacinthe_Rigaud_-_Louis_XIV,_roi_de_France_(1638-1715)_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg)

1702

Public Domain