In the context of Equestrian statue of Louis XIV (Bernini), analyze the Bust of Louis XIV of the Culmination of themes in Bernini's work.
In addition to the equestrian statue, Louis XIV commissioned Bernini to sculpt a portrait bust of himself. The bust was modeled on another Bernini had made ten years prior of Francesco d’Este, the Duke of Modena. Both include many similar features, including the lance jabot, the shoulder clad in armor, and a cloak that appears to be floating in the wind. The most notable similarity between the two busts is the use of drapery to 'conceal' the lower torso. Both of these busts, along with the Louis XIV equestrian statue are examples of the ways in which Bernini depicts power in the context of seventeenth-century absolute monarchies.A detail of Louis’s bust comes from an anecdote recorded by Domenico Bernini and was summarized by the historian Cecil Gould,“One of the visitors at this early stage [July 22] was the Marquis de Bellefonds, who said he would have liked to see some hair on the King’s forehead… Bernini’s comment on this occasion was that painters had the advantage over sculptors in being able… to depict hair on a forehead without obscuring it. This thought fired Bernini to attempt the impossible. A week after Bellefonds’ visit Chantelou noticed that Bernini had in fact added a lock of hair onto the forehead of the bust… The addition of this lock, of which Bernini was very proud, could only be achieved by cutting back all the upper part of the forehead except for the curl itself. This was later to be criticized adversely, and it did in fact falsify the shape of the King’s forehead.”The anecdote points out that Bernini was more concerned with the technical side of the bust rather than carving with accuracy to the king’s likeness. The alteration resulted in a change in brow shape that was considered to be ‘unflattering’.
France equestrian statue Louis XIV Francesco d’Este Cecil Gould portrait bust Modena absolute monarchies Domenico Bernini