Editing Louis XIV (section)

==Image and depiction==
[[File:Bronze bust of Louis XIV. Circa 1660 CE, by unknown artist. From Paris, France. The Victoria and Albert Museum, London.jpg|thumb|Bronze bust of Louis{{Nbsp}}XIV. Circa 1660, by an unknown artist. From Paris, France. The [[Victoria and Albert Museum]], London.]]
Few rulers in world history have commemorated themselves in as grand a manner as Louis.{{Sfn|Burke|1992}} He cultivated his image as the Sun King (''le Roi Soleil''), the centre of the universe "without equal". Louis used court ritual and the arts to validate and augment his control over France. With his support, Colbert established from the beginning of Louis's personal reign a centralised and institutionalised system for creating and perpetuating the royal image. The King was thus portrayed largely in majesty or at war, notably against Spain. This portrayal of the monarch was to be found in numerous media of artistic expression, such as painting, sculpture, theatre, dance, music, and the almanacs that diffused royal propaganda to the population at large.

===Evolution of royal portraiture===
[[File:Le roi gouverne par lui-même.jpg|thumb|left|''Le roi gouverne par lui-même'', ''modello'' for the central panel of the ceiling of the [[Hall of Mirrors]] {{Circa|1680}} by [[Charles Le Brun|Le Brun]], (1619–1690)]]
Over his lifetime, Louis commissioned numerous works of art, including over 300 formal portraits. The earliest portrayals of Louis already followed the pictorial conventions of the day in depicting the child king as the majestically royal incarnation of France. This idealisation of the monarch continued in later works, which avoided depictions of the effect of smallpox that Louis contracted in 1647. In the 1660s, Louis began to be shown as a Roman emperor, the god [[Apollo]], or [[Alexander the Great]], as can be seen in many works of [[Charles Le Brun]], such as sculpture, paintings, and the decor of major monuments.{{Citation needed|date=March 2025}}

Grandiose images of the king in allegorical or mythological guises followed conventions of historiated portraiture that had been common since the Renaissance.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Neuman |first=Robert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SRRplwEACAAJ&q=Front+cover+image+for+Baroque+and+Rococo+Art+and+Architecture+Baroque+and+Rococo+Art+and+Architecture++neuman |title=Baroque and Rococo Art and Architecture |date=2013 |publisher=Pearson Education |isbn=978-0-205-94951-9 |pages=317 |language=en}}</ref> There is no better illustration of this than [[Hyacinthe Rigaud]]'s 1701 [[Portrait of Louis XIV|Portrait of Louis{{Nbsp}}XIV]], where a 63-year-old Louis appears to stand on a set of unnaturally young legs.{{Sfn|Perez|2003|pp=62–95}}

Rigaud's portrait exemplified the height of royal portraiture during Louis's reign. Although Rigaud crafted a credible likeness of Louis, the portrait was neither meant as an exercise in realism nor to explore Louis's character. Certainly, Rigaud was concerned with detail and depicted the king's costume with great precision, down to his shoe buckle.<ref>See also {{Cite journal |last=Schmitter |first=Amy M. |date=2002 |title=Representation and the Body of Power in French Academic Painting |journal=Journal of the History of Ideas |volume=63 |issue=3 |pages=399–424 |doi=10.1353/jhi.2002.0027 |issn=0022-5037 |jstor=3654315 |s2cid=170904125}}</ref>

However, Rigaud intended to glorify the monarchy. Rigaud's original, now housed in the [[Louvre]], was originally meant as a gift to Louis's grandson, [[Philip&nbsp;V of Spain]]. However, Louis was so pleased with the work that he kept the original and commissioned a copy to be sent to his grandson. That became the first of many copies, both in full and half-length formats, to be made by Rigaud, often with the help of his assistants. The portrait also became a model for French royal and imperial portraiture down to the time of [[Charles X of France|Charles&nbsp;X]] over a century later. In his work, Rigaud proclaims Louis's exalted royal status through his elegant stance and haughty expression, the royal regalia and throne, rich ceremonial fleur-de-lys robes, as well as the upright column in the background, which, together with the draperies, serves to frame this image of majesty.

===Other works of art===
In addition to portraits, Louis commissioned at least 20 statues of himself in the 1680s, to stand in Paris and provincial towns as physical manifestations of his rule. He also commissioned "war artists" to follow him on campaigns to document his military triumphs. To remind the people of these triumphs, Louis erected permanent [[triumphal arch]]es in Paris and the provinces for the first time since the [[Fall of the Western Roman Empire|decline of the Roman Empire]].

Louis's reign marked the birth and infancy of the art of medallions. Sixteenth-century rulers had often issued medals in small numbers to commemorate the major events of their reigns. Louis, however, struck more than 300 to celebrate the story of the king in bronze, that were enshrined in thousands of households throughout France.

He also used [[Tapestry|tapestries]] as a medium of exalting the monarchy. Tapestries could be allegorical, depicting the elements or seasons, or realist, portraying royal residences or historical events. They were among the most significant means to spread royal propaganda prior to the construction of the [[Hall of Mirrors]] at Versailles.{{Sfn|Sabatier|2000|p=527–560}}

===Ballet===
[[File:Ballet de la nuit 1653.jpg|thumb|Louis XIV as [[Apollo]] in the ''[[Ballet Royal de la Nuit]]'' (1653)]]
[[File:Chateau Versailles Galerie des Glaces.jpg|thumb|[[Hall of Mirrors]], Palace of Versailles]]
Louis loved [[French ballet|ballet]] and frequently danced in court ballets during the early half of his reign. In general, Louis was an eager dancer who performed 80 roles in 40 major ballets. This approaches the career of a professional ballet dancer.{{Sfn|Prest|2001|pp=283–298}}

His choices were strategic and varied. He danced four parts in three of [[Molière]]'s comédies-ballets, which are plays accompanied by music and dance. Louis played an Egyptian in ''Le Mariage forcé'' in 1664, a Moorish gentleman in ''Le Sicilien'' in 1667, and both Neptune and Apollo in ''Les Amants magnifiques'' in 1670.

He sometimes danced leading roles that were suitably royal or godlike (such as Neptune, Apollo, or the Sun).{{Sfn|Prest|2001|pp=283–298}} At other times, he would adopt mundane roles before appearing at the end in the lead role. It is considered that, at all times, he provided his roles with sufficient majesty and drew the limelight with his flair for dancing.{{Sfn|Prest|2001|pp=283–298}} For Louis, ballet may not have merely been a tool for manipulation in his propaganda machinery. The sheer number of performances he gave as well as the diversity of roles he played may serve to indicate a deeper understanding and interest in the art form.{{Sfn|Prest|2001|pp=283–298}}<ref>See also Louis' commissioned academy of dance, discussed in {{Cite journal |last=Needham |first=Maureen |date=1997 |title=Louis XIV and the Académie Royale de Danse, 1661: A Commentary and Translation |journal=Dance Chronicle |volume=20/2 |issue=2 |pages=173–190 |doi=10.1080/01472529708569278 |jstor=1568065| issn = 0147-2526 }}</ref>

Ballet dancing was used by Louis as a political tool to hold power over his state. He integrated ballet deeply into court social functions and fixated his nobles' attention on upholding standards in ballet dancing, effectively distracting them from political activities.{{Sfn|Homans|2010|p=52}} In 1661, the [[Académie Royale de Danse|Royal Academy of Dance]] was founded by Louis to further his ambition. [[Pierre Beauchamp]], his private dance instructor, was ordered by Louis to come up with a [[Beauchamp-Feuillet notation|notation system]] to record ballet performances, which he did with great success. His work was adopted and published by [[Raoul Auger Feuillet|Feuillet]] in 1700 as ''Choregraphie''. This major development in ballet played an important role in promoting French culture and ballet throughout Europe during Louis's time.{{Sfn|Homans|2010|pp=64–66}}

Louis greatly emphasized etiquettes in ballet dancing, evidently seen in "La belle danse" (the [[French ballet|French noble style]]). More challenging skills were required to perform this dance with movements very much resembling court behaviours, as a way to remind the nobles of the king's absolute power and their own status. All the details and rules were compressed in five positions of the bodies codified by Beauchamp.{{Sfn|Homans|2010|pp=66–72}}

===Unofficial image===
Besides the official depiction and image of Louis, his subjects also followed a non-official discourse consisting mainly of clandestine publications, popular songs, and rumours that provided an alternative interpretation of Louis and his government. They often focused on the miseries arising from poor government, but also carried the hope for a better future when Louis escaped the malignant influence of his ministers and mistresses, and took the government into his own hands. On the other hand, petitions addressed either directly to Louis or to his ministers exploited the traditional imagery and language of monarchy. These varying interpretations of Louis abounded in self-contradictions that reflected the people's amalgamation of their everyday experiences with the idea of monarchy.{{Sfn|Jens Ivo|2003|pp=96–126}}

===In fiction===
====Literature====
* [[Alexandre Dumas]] portrayed Louis in his two sequels to his 1844 novel ''[[The Three Musketeers]]'': first as a child in ''[[Twenty Years After]]'' (1845), then as a young man in ''[[The Vicomte de Bragelonne]]'' (1847–1850), in which he is a central character. The final part of the latter novel recounts the legend that a mysterious [[Man in the Iron Mask|prisoner in an iron mask]] was actually Louis's twin brother and has spawned numerous film adaptations generally titled ''The Man in the Iron Mask''.
* In 1910, the American historical novelist [[Charles Major (writer)|Charles Major]] wrote ''"The Little King: A Story of the Childhood of King Louis{{Nbsp}}XIV"''.
* Louis is a major character in the 1959 historical novel ''Angélique et le Roy'' ("Angélique and the King"), part of the [[Angélique (novel series)|''Angélique'' series]]. The protagonist, a strong-willed lady at Versailles, rejects the King's advances and refuses to become his mistress. A later book, the 1961 ''Angélique se révolte'' ("Angélique in Revolt"), details the dire consequences of her defying this powerful monarch.
* A character based on Louis plays an important role in ''[[The Age of Unreason]]'', a series of four [[alternate history]] novels written by American science fiction and fantasy author [[Gregory Keyes]].
* Louis features significantly in [[Neal Stephenson]]'s [[Baroque Cycle]], specifically in the 2003 novel ''[[The Confusion (novel)|The Confusion]]'', the greater part of which takes place at Versailles.
* In the ''39 Clues'' series universe, it has been noted that Louis was part of the Cahill branch, Tomas.
* He is called the son of Apollo in [[Rick Riordan]]'s ''[[Trials of Apollo]]'' series.
* Louis XIV is portrayed in [[Vonda N. McIntyre]]'s 1997 novel ''[[The Moon and the Sun]]''.

====Films====
* The film, ''[[The Taking of Power by Louis&nbsp;XIV]]'' (1966), directed by [[Roberto Rossellini]], shows Louis's rise to power after the death of [[Cardinal Mazarin]].
* The film [[The Man in the Iron Mask (1998 film)|''Man in the Iron Mask'']] (1998), directed by [[Randall Wallace]], focused on the identity of an anonymous masked prisoner who spent decades in the Bastille and other French prisons, and his true identity remains somewhat a mystery till date. The monarch was played by [[Leonardo DiCaprio]].
* The film, ''[[Le Roi Danse]]'' (2000; translated: ''The King Dances''), directed by [[Gérard Corbiau]], reveals Louis through the eyes of [[Jean-Baptiste Lully]], his court musician.
* [[Julian Sands]] portrayed Louis in Roland Jaffe's ''[[Vatel (film)|Vatel]]'' (2000).
* [[Alan Rickman]] directed, co-wrote, and stars as Louis{{Nbsp}}XIV in the film, ''[[A Little Chaos]]'', which centres on construction in the gardens of Versaille, at the time immediately before and after the death of Queen Maria Theresa.
* The 2016 film ''[[The Death of Louis&nbsp;XIV]]'', directed by [[Albert Serra]], is set during the last two weeks of Louis{{Nbsp}}XIV's life before dying of [[gangrene]], with the monarch played by [[Jean-Pierre Léaud]].

====Television====
* Louis XIV is portrayed by Thierry Perkins-Lyautey in the British television film ''[[Charles II: The Power and the Passion]].''
* The 15-year-old Louis{{Nbsp}}XIV, as played by the Irish actor [[Robert Sheehan]], is a major character of the short-lived historical fantasy series ''[[Young Blades]]'' from January to June 2005.
* [[George Blagden]] portrays Louis{{Nbsp}}XIV in the [[Canal+ (French TV channel)|Canal+]] series ''[[Versailles (TV series)|Versailles]]'' which aired for three seasons from 2015.

====Musicals====

* [[Emmanuel Moire]] portrayed Louis{{Nbsp}}XIV in the 2005-07 [[Kamel Ouali]] musical [[Le Roi Soleil (musical)|Le Roi Soleil]].