In this artwork, how is the The Vision of Constantine of the Culmination of themes in Bernini's work elucidated?
In his process to construct the equestrian statue, Bernini referred back to one of his earlier works, the Vision of the Emperor Constantine, which began construction in 1654 and was completed in late 1669.
The equestrian statue of Louis XIV was designed with his earlier work on the equestrian monument of the emperor Constantine in Rome in mind, with both horses striking similar poses and neither riders holding reins or stirrups. Whereas Constantine's gestures were raised above him to convey the vision of the Holy Cross and God above him, the Sun King’s gestures are grounded to convey his mundane and non-divine power in an act that Bernini termed as an ‘act of majesty and command'.Unlike the statue of Constantine, the statue of Louis XIV had been carved from a single block of stone, to be 'the largest ever seen in Rome," according to early biographers.
equestrian statue Louis XIV Rome Constantine