Focus on Portrait of Louis XIV and explain the Description.
Signed and dated, "Painted by Hyacinthe Rigaud in 1701" on the base of the column supporting the goddess of Justice, and with Themis holding a set of scales in her hand, this vast portrait is that of an aging (64 years old) King, having reached the summit of his glory.
Rigaud executed the face on a small rectangular canvas subsequently sewn in small dots onto a larger canvas painted with the figure and background.
This original, now in the Louvre 3, from the crown collections, has a replica (now shown in the Apollo Room of the Palace of Versailles ), also signed although of slightly different dimensions than the original. One can also find a copy at the Hotel Negresco.
The king is depicted standing upright, three quarters to the left, his head low and his feet in view, a pose calculated to presenting the greater part of his person. The king occupies the central space of the painting whose composition is constructed from vertical lines (column, king, throne) and a pyramid in which the sovereign inscribes, which creates an elevated space. The drama of the scene is accentuated by a heavy draped curtain which traditionally means that the king does not appear but appears. A large marble pillar, traditional evocation of power since the Renaissance (as a stability symbol, the world axis that unites the earthly and heavenly powers) holds the composition left. The massive barrel rests on a stylobate whose two visible sides are decorated with reliefs depicting two royal virtues: The allegories of Justice (front) and strength (left, very difficult to see).Stood before a throne upholstered in blue and embroidered with fleur de lys placed high up on a platform and under a purple (the color of power and wealth since antiquity) silk canopy, the king embodies the majesty of choice because he need not bear regalia (he is uncrowned, the hand of justice posed on a stool covered with a blue fleur de lys drapery, scepter of his grandfather Henry IV held upside down as a cane), except to the sword of Charlemagne whose sole custody is visible. Wearing this sword with the coronation mantle is an obvious incongruity. The monarch is clothed in a leonine wig and court garments ( lace shirt and cuffs, brocade rhingraves, red - heeled shoes adorned with diamond buckles, and silk stockings held by garters ) wears the necklace of the Order the Holy Spirit and the royal coat pinned high on the shoulder to highlight the former sword dancer and his thin legs as Louis XIV had insisted that his features be "true"
stylobate rhingraves Henry IV Palace of Versailles Louis XIV Versailles Hyacinthe Rigaud coronation mantle Themis Louvre fleur de lys