Describe the characteristics of the Construction and creation in Equestrian statue of Louis XIV (Bernini)'s History.
Bernini followed French tradition creating equestrian statues of French kings in their own residences, with notable examples by Francois Mansart, Charles Perrault, and Pierre Cottard. Despite tradition, Bernini was the first in France to design an equestrian statue to be freestanding with a rearing horse rather than attached to building. The precedent for this was Pietro Tacca's sculpture of Philip IV in the garden of Buen Retiro (1642) in Madrid which had been considered to be the first equestrian monument displaying a rearing rider since antiquity. This emulation reflected the Franco-Spanish rivalry during the reign of King Louis XIV.In many images that capture the likeness of Louis XIV, the principal component was the metaphor of Louis’ reign, the sun, which conforms to the tradition of the oriens augusti, or “the rising of the august one”, a term that identifies a ruler with the sun. The sun was also one of many symbols for Pope Urban VIII, Bernini’s greatest patron. In his time serving Urban VIII, Bernini was involved in the design of a frescoed vault within the Barberini Palace in Rome in which Divine Wisdom appears with the symbol of the sun on her breast.
Buen Retiro Philip IV France Pietro Tacca equestrian statue Louis XIV Rome Francois Mansart Barberini Palace Charles Perrault Pope Urban VIII Madrid