Louis Xiv

Author : Philip Mansel
Publisher : Penguin UK
Page : 636 pages
File Size : 42,5 Mb
Release : 2019-07-11
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9780241960592

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King of the World by Philip Mansel Pdf

Winner of the Franco-British Society Book Prize 2019 'The ultimate biography of the Sun King' Simon Sebag Montefiore Louis XIV dominated his age. He extended France's frontiers into Netherlands and Germany, and established colonies overseas. The stupendous palace he built at Versailles became the envy of monarchs all over Europe. In his palaces, Louis encouraged dancing, hunting, music and gambling. He loved conversation, especially with women: the power of women in Louis's life and reign is a particular theme of this book. Louis was obsessed by the details of government but the cost of building palaces and waging continuous wars devastated the country's finances and helped set it on the path to revolution. Nevertheless, by his death, he had helped make his grandson king of Spain, where his descendants still reign, and France had taken essentially the shape it has today. King of the World is the most comprehensive and up-to-date biography of this hypnotic, flawed figure in English. It draws on all the latest research to paint a convincing and compelling portrait of a man who, three hundred years after his death, still epitomises the idea of le grand monarque.

Author : Catherine Pégard,Mathieu da Vinha
Publisher : Assouline Publishing
Page : 6 pages
File Size : 53,7 Mb
Release : 2020-11-01
Category : Travel
ISBN : 9781614289623

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Versailles: From Louis XIV to Jeff Koons by Catherine Pégard,Mathieu da Vinha Pdf

Lavishly illustrated with archival images and beautiful photography, Versailles: From Louis XIV to Jeff Koons features insightful texts by Catherine Pégard, president of the Château de Versailles, with the collaboration of Mathieu da Vinha, scientific director of the Château de Versailles Research Center, revealing all the stories that have unfolded within this glorious monument.

Author : Antonia Fraser
Publisher : Anchor Canada
Page : 466 pages
File Size : 53,8 Mb
Release : 2010-06-25
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9780385672511

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Love and Louis XIV by Antonia Fraser Pdf

The superb historian and biographer Antonia Fraser, author of Marie Antoinette, casts new light on the splendor and the scandals of the reign of Louis XIV in this dramatic, illuminating look at the women in his life. The self-proclaimed Sun King, Louis XIV ruled over the most glorious and extravagant court in seventeenth-century Europe. Now, Antonia Fraser goes behind the well-known tales of Louis’s accomplishments and follies, exploring in riveting detail his intimate relationships with women. The king’s mother, Anne of Austria, had been in a childless marriage for twenty-two years before she gave birth to Louis XIV. A devout Catholic, she instilled in her son a strong sense of piety and fought successfully for his right to absolute power. In 1660, Louis married his first cousin, Marie-Thérèse, in a political arrangement. While unfailingly kind to the official Queen of Versailles, Louis sought others to satisfy his romantic and sexual desires. After a flirtation with his sister-in-law, his first important mistress was Louise de La Vallière, who bore him several children before being replaced by the tempestuous and brilliant Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan. Later, when Athénaïs’s reputation was tarnished, the King continued to support her publicly as Athénaïs left court for a life of repentance. Meanwhile her children’s governess, the intelligent and seemingly puritanical Françoise de Maintenon, had already won the King’s affections; in a relationship in complete contrast to his physical obsession with Athénaïs, Louis XIV lived happily with Madame de Maintenon for the rest of his life, very probably marrying her in secret. When his grandson’s child bride, the enchanting Adelaide of Savoy, came to Versaille she lightened the King’s last years – until tragedy struck. With consummate skill, Antonia Fraser weaves insights into the nature of women’s religious lives – as well as such practical matters as contraception – into her magnificent, sweeping portrait of the king, his court, and his ladies.

Author : Peter Robert Campbell
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 185 pages
File Size : 46,5 Mb
Release : 2014-05-12
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9781317901495

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Louis XIV by Peter Robert Campbell Pdf

"Seminar Studies in History" aims to bridge the gap between the standardized textbook and the specialist survey. Each book consists of a brief introduction or background to the subject, followed by a section of analysis focusing on the main themes and issues.

Author : Josephine Wilkinson
Publisher : Pegasus Books
Page : 488 pages
File Size : 44,5 Mb
Release : 2020-12-08
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 1643135929

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Louis XIV by Josephine Wilkinson Pdf

An intelligent, authoritative, and often surprising biography of the most famous of French monarchs, by an acclaimed biographer and historian. This stylish and incisive narrative presents readers with a fresh perspective on one of the most fascinating kings in European history. Louis XIV’s story has all the ingredients of a Dumas classic: legendary beginnings, beguiling women, court intrigue, a mysterious prisoner in an iron mask, lavish court entertainments, the scandal of a mistress who was immersed in the dark arts, and a central character who is handsome and romantic, but with a frighteningly dark side to his character. Louis believed himself to be semi-divine. His self-identification as the Sun King, which was reflected in iconography by the sun god, Apollo, influenced every aspect of Louis’s life: his political philosophy, his wars, and his relationships with courtiers and subjects. As a military strategist, Louis’s capacity was ambiguous, but he was an astute politician who led his country to the heights of sophistication and power—and then had the misfortune to live long enough to see it all crumble away. As the sun began to set upon this most glorious of reigns, it brought a gathering darkness filled with the anguish of dead heirs, threatened borders, and a populace that was dangerously dependent upon—but greatly distanced from—its king.

Author : Aurora von Goeth,Jules Harper
Publisher : Casemate Publishers
Page : 146 pages
File Size : 51,7 Mb
Release : 2018-06-30
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9781526726421

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Louis XIV by Aurora von Goeth,Jules Harper Pdf

A concise, straightforward biography of the seventeenth-century French monarch and his seventy-two-year reign. Innovator. Tyrant. Consummate showman. Passionate lover of women. After the death of King Louis XIII in 1643, the French crown went to his first-born son and heir, four-year old Louis XIV. In the extraordinary seventy-two years that followed, Louis le Grand—France’s self-styled “Sun King”—ruled France and its people, leaving his unique and permanent mark on history and shaping fashion, art, culture and architecture like none other before. This frank and concise book gives the reader a personal glimpse into the Sun King’s life and times as we follow his rise in power and influence: from a miraculous royal birth no one ever expected to the rise of king as absolute monarch, through the evolution of the glittering Château de Versailles, scandals and poison, four wars and many more mistresses . . . right up to his final days. Absolute monarch. Appointed by God. This is Louis XIV, the man. We will uncover his glorious and not-so-glorious obsessions. His debilitating health issues. His drive and passions. And we will dispel some myths, plus reveal the people in his intimate circle working behind the scenes on the Louis propaganda machine to ensure his legacy stayed in the history books forever. This easy-to-read narrative is accompanied by a plethora of little-known artworks, so if you’re a Louis XIV fan or student, or just eager to know more about France’s most famous king, we invite you to delve into court life of seventeenth-century French aristocracy, the period known as Le Grand Siècle—“The Grand Century.”

Author : Vincent Cronin
Publisher : Harvill Secker
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 53,6 Mb
Release : 2011-04-19
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 1846555582

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Louis XIV by Vincent Cronin Pdf

First published 25 years ago, this biography of the Sun King uses contemporary sources to examine what sort of monarch Louis XIV really was. The author's researches reveal a portrait of the man and an account of the principal events of his long reign (1642-1715). The book provides an overview of the entire civilization inspired by and reflecting the glory of the Sun King. Thus, while Louis occupies the foreground, artists like Racine, Moliere, Lully and Mansart, the architect of Versailles, share the middleground with politicians such as Cardinal Mazarin and Nicolas Fouquet and courtiers such as the king's mistress, Louise de La Valliere.

Author : Richard Wilkinson
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 280 pages
File Size : 53,6 Mb
Release : 2017-09-19
Category : History
ISBN : 9781351663472

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Louis XIV by Richard Wilkinson Pdf

Louis XIV ruled France for more than half a century and is typically remembered for his absolutism, his patronage of the arts and his lavish lifestyle – culminating in the building of Versailles. This original and lively biography focuses on Louis’s personal life while keeping the needs of the history student at the forefront, featuring analysis of Louis’s wider significance in history and the surrounding historiography. This book balances the undeniable cultural achievements of the reign against the realities of Louis’s egotism and argues that, when viewed critically, Louis’s rule (1643–1715) personified the disadvantages of absolute monarchy, and inexorably led to social and political blunders, resulting in the suffering of millions. Richard Wilkinson demonstrates that while Louis excelled as a self-publicist, he fell far short of being a great monarch. This second edition includes an up-to-date and accessible biography, further sections on the women at Louis’s court, France in an international context and new material looking at Louis’s involvement in ballet. This book is essential reading for all history students and those with a general interest in one of history’s most colourful rulers.

Author : Michel (Prince of Greece)
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 456 pages
File Size : 52,8 Mb
Release : 1983
Category : France
ISBN : UOM:39015005381424

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Louis XIV by Michel (Prince of Greece) Pdf

Author : Peter Fuhring,Louis Marchesano,Remi Mathis,Vanessa Selbach
Publisher : Getty Publications
Page : 348 pages
File Size : 46,9 Mb
Release : 2015-06-18
Category : Art
ISBN : 9781606064504

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A Kingdom of Images by Peter Fuhring,Louis Marchesano,Remi Mathis,Vanessa Selbach Pdf

Once considered the golden age of French printmaking, Louis XIV’s reign saw Paris become a powerhouse of print production. During this time, the king aimed to make fine and decorative arts into signs of French taste and skill and, by extension, into markers of his imperialist glory. Prints were ideal for achieving these goals; reproducible and transportable, they fueled the sophisticated propaganda machine circulating images of Louis as both a man of war and a man of culture. This richly illustrated catalogue features more than one hundred prints from the Getty Research Institute and the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris, whose print collection Louis XIV established in 1667. An esteemed international group of contributors investigates the ways that cultural policies affected printmaking; explains what constitutes a print; describes how one became a printmaker; studies how prints were collected; and considers their reception in the ensuing centuries. A Kingdom of Images is published to coincide with an exhibition on view at the Getty Research Institute from June 18 through September 6, 2015, and at the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris from November 2, 2015, through January 31, 2016.

Author : Daniëlle Kisluk-Grosheide,Bertrand Rondot
Publisher : Metropolitan Museum of Art
Page : 396 pages
File Size : 54,8 Mb
Release : 2018-04-16
Category : Art
ISBN : 9781588396228

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Visitors to Versailles by Daniëlle Kisluk-Grosheide,Bertrand Rondot Pdf

What was it like to visit one of the most magnificent courts of Europe? Based on a wealth of contemporary documents and surviving works of art, this lavish book explores the experiences of those who swarmed the palace and grounds of Versailles when it was the seat of the French monarchy. Engaging essays describe methods of transportation, the elaborate codes of dress and etiquette, precious diplomatic gifts, royal audiences, and tours of the palace and gardens. Also presented are the many types of visitors and guests who eagerly made their way to this center of power and culture, including day-trippers and Grand Tourists, European diplomats, overseas ambassadors, incognito travelers, and Americans. Through paintings and portraits, furniture, costumes and uniforms, arms and armor, guidebooks, and other works of art, Visitors to Versailles illuminates what travelers encountered at court and what impressions, gifts, and souvenirs they took home with them. In bringing to life their experiences, this sumptuously illustrated volume reminds us why Versailles has enchanted generations of visitors from the ancien régime to the present day.

Author : Ragnhild Marie Hatton
Publisher : Springer
Page : 315 pages
File Size : 42,9 Mb
Release : 1976-01-01
Category : History
ISBN : 9781349169818

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Louis XIV and Absolution by Ragnhild Marie Hatton Pdf

Author : Georgia Cowart
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 332 pages
File Size : 42,8 Mb
Release : 2008-12-15
Category : History
ISBN : 9780226116389

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The Triumph of Pleasure by Georgia Cowart Pdf

With a particular focus on the court ballet, comedy-ballet, opera, and opera-ballet, Georgia J. Cowart tells the long-neglected story of how the festive arts deployed an intricate network of subversive satire to undermine the rhetoric of sovereign authority.

Author : Richard Wilkinson
Publisher : Hodder Education
Page : 152 pages
File Size : 43,7 Mb
Release : 1993
Category : France
ISBN : 0340575115

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Louis XIV, France and Europe, 1661-1715 by Richard Wilkinson Pdf

While synthesizing and passing on to students the results of recent research, this book also emphasizes the fascination and controversy of Louis XIV's reign and its effect on his European neighbours. The issues influencing Louis's absolute rule and the extent to which he had real options are examined.

Author : Peter Burke
Publisher : Yale University Press
Page : 260 pages
File Size : 51,7 Mb
Release : 1994-01-01
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 0300059434

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The Fabrication of Louis XIV by Peter Burke Pdf

Louis XIV was a man like any other, but the money and attention lavished on his public image by the French government transformed him into a godlike figure. In this engrossing book, an internationally respected historian gives an account of contemporary representations of Louis XIV and shows how the making of the royal image illuminates the relationship between art and power. Images of Louis XIV included hundreds of oil paintings and engravings, three-hundred-odd medals struck to commemorate the major events of the reign, sculptures, and bronzes, as well as plays, ballets (in which the king himself sometimes appeared on stage), operas, odes, sermons, official newspapers and histories, fireworks, fountains, and tapestries. Drawing on an analysis of these representations as well as on surviving documentary sources, Peter Burke shows the conscious attempt to "invent" the image of the king and reveals how the supervision of the royal image was entrusted to a commitee, the so-called small academy. This book is not only a fascinating chronological study of the mechanics of the image-making of a king over the course of a seventy-year reign but is also an investigation into the genre of cultural construction. Burke discusses the element of propaganda implicit in image-making, the manipulation of seventeenth-century media of communication (oral, visual, and textual) and their codes (literary and artistic), and the intended audience and its response. He concludes by comparing and contrasting Louis's public image with that of other rulers ranging from Augustus to contemporary American presidents.