What elements did Hyacinthe Rigaud use to demonstrate the absolute power of Louis XIV in his portrait of the king?

In Hyacinthe Rigaud’s most famous portrait, Louis XIV shows the majestic power of an absolute monarch. He is wearing his coronation robe embroidered with the royal fleur de lys along with some key elements of Baroque style such as the cravat, red heels, and the wig.

Where is the portrait of Louis XIV?

Louvre Museum
Portrait of Louis XIV/Locations

Who painted Louis XIV portrait?

Hyacinthe Rigaud
Portrait of Louis XIV/Artists

Versailles reinforced the image of the Sun King and infused the Baroque style with classical elements, visually linking Louis’ rule to the might of Imperial Rome. As the leading patron of the era, Louis XIV employed a workshop of artists and architects; Hyacinthe Rigaud became the principal painter to the king.

Why was the portrait of Louis XIV made?

While Rigaud made a credible likeness of the king, his purpose was not to express Louis’s character but to glorify the monarchy. His original Portrait of Louis XIV of 1701, now in the Louvre , was so popular that Rigaud had many copies made, both in full and half-length formats, often with the help of assistants.

How big is Hyacinthe Rigaud portrait of Louis XIV?

Left: Hyacinthe Rigaud, Louis XIV, 1701, oil on canvas, 9’2” x 6’3” (Musée du Louvre, Paris); right: Anthony van Dyck, Charles I at the Hunt, c. 1635, oil on canvas, 2.66 x 2.07 m (Musée du Louvre, Paris) Rigaud’s monumental portrait displays a life-size, full-body depiction of Louis XIV.

Who was Hyacinthe Rigaud and what did he do?

Hyacinthe Rigaud (Fig. 1) was one of the most renowned French Baroque painters during the reign of Louis XIV. In his earlier works, he was strongly influenced by Anthony van Dyck, as art historian Cathrin Klingsöhr-Leroy notes. Tessa Fleming has pointed out that the portrait of Louis XIV (1701) recalls van Dyck’s Charles I Dismounted (Fig.

How old is the portrait of Louis XIV?

“Louis XIV of France” by Hyacinthe Rigaud is a large portrait of the 63-year-old French King in his Coronation Robes. Louis XIV kept it hanging at Versailles, and it became the “official portrait” of Louis XIV.

When was Hyacinthe Rigaud given to the Louvre?

According to Louvre, this painting was shown at the 1704 Salon and remained in royal collections until after the French Revolution when, in 1793, it was handed over to the Muséum Central des Arts de la République, later known as the Musée du Louvre. Fig. 1 – Hyacinthe Rigaud (French, 1659-1743).