Louis Xiv Research Paper
Comparative essay between the social significances of Louis xiv and Louis xvi
Submitted by: - Avaljot Kaur Randhawa
Submitted to: -Ms. Finn
Course code: -CHY 4U7
Due date: -6th Oct, 2014
Introduction
Louis xiv and Louis xvi were the two rulers of France. Louis XIV (1638-1715) exemplified the characteristics of absolute monarchy during his 72-year reign. He created the most centralized nation state in Europe and gave birth to a new sense of French nationhood. The monarchy as the personification of the state is epitomized in the palace and gardens of Versailles. He was one of the best rulers of France. But Louis XVI was not as great as his great grandfather. Louis XVI, also called …show more content…
(until 1774) Louis-Auguste, duc de Berry (born Aug. 23, 1754, Versailles, France—died Jan. 21, 1793, Paris), the last king of France (1774–92) in the line of Bourbon monarchs preceding the French Revolution of 1789. The monarchy was abolished on Sept. 21, 1792; later Louis and his queen consort, Marie-Antoinette, were guillotined on charges of counterrevolution. After 1789 Louis XVI’s incapacity to rule, his irresolution, and his surrender to reactionary influences at court were partially responsible for the failure to establish in France the forms of a limited constitutional monarchy. He allowed himself to be persuaded that royal dignity required him to avoid communication with the deputies assembled at Versailles, and he made no attempt to lay out a program that might have attracted their support. At critical moments, he was distracted by the illness and death of his eldest son, the dauphin (June 4, 1789)
Louis XVI
Louis XIV
Interest in arts: -Louis xiv was very interested in arts. He was the protector of writers, notably Molière and Jean Racine, whom he ordered to sing his praises, and he imposed his own visions of beauty and nature on artists. France’s appearance and way of life were changed; the great towns underwent a metamorphosis, the landscape was altered, and monuments arose everywhere. The King energetically devoted himself to building new residences. All the power of the government was brought to bear in the construction of Versailles. French sculpture reached a new zenith at this time, after the mediocrity of the first half of the century. François Girardon was a favourite of the King and did several portrait sculptures of him, as well as the tomb of the cardinal de Richelieu, the greatest artist in the history of European landscape architecture, worked with the King, designing vistas, fountains, and many other outdoor arrangements. Louis XIV loved water and fountains. Water gardens embroider the grounds, and fountains further embellish the garden pools. From the start, Versailles was conceived as a showcase of French arts and craftsmanship – especially those from the royal workshops of the Paris Globelins manufacturing. French style in architecture came to dominate European culture.
Louis xvi also showed an interest in arts and architecture. The predominant style in architecture, painting, sculpture, and the decorative arts was Neoclassicism, a style that had come into its own during the last years of Louis XV’s life, Jacques-Louis David was the most important painter of the reign of Louis XVI; his severe compositions recalling the style of the earlier painter Nicolas Poussin are documents extolling republican virtues. The foremost sculptor of the reign of Louis XVI was Jean-Antoine Houdon (1741–1828). He portrayed a number of the most prominent men of his day, often in classical togas. The lavish court style of Louis and Marie Antoinette, his young queen, gave impetus to the highly skilled ébénistes, or cabinetmakers, of the period. Whereas the general style of furniturewas again neoclassic (i.e., straight, simple lines and classical motifs), the workmanship was as complicated and as finely performed as in any period to date. Jean-Henri Riesener and Bernard van Risenburgh were two of the foremost cabinetmakers, filling commissions for Mme du Barry as well as for the Queen. Many of the ébénistes, including Riesener, were German craftsmen who, nevertheless, contributed to the tradition of French furniture. Other makers of luxury items benefited from the excesses of the court, chief among them the porcelain manufactory at Sèvres.
Class system during their reigns: - The palace and gardens of Versailles – built in four separate stages and completed in 1682 – became the epicenter of French government and cultural life and influenced imitation.
In this “Hollywood of the 17th century”, Louis encouraged the nobility to busy themselves with gossip, hunting, affairs of the heart, ceremonial tasks, and elaborate court etiquette. Nobles vied for ceremonial, but highly paid and highly respected, offices such as Master of the Royal Tennis Courts and Master of the Royal Clocks. Elaborate rituals performed by eager and privileged nobility accompanied the king’s rising in the morning and retiring at night. The Chapel Royal l where Louis attended daily mass is an impressive architectural accomplishment in the palace. Louis tried to unite his country under the Roman Catholic faith. In 1685, he revoked the Edict of Nantes, which had given equal rights to the Huguenots in …show more content…
France.
After centuries of class division, oppressive taxes, and an unequal distribution of the country's wealth, the ingredients for change were present during Louis xvi’s reign. The people of France were, comparatively speaking, a literate and self-aware culture. French society was divided into levels known as the Three Estate System. The First Estate consisted of the clergy, who, despite representing only about one half a per cent of the population, held 10% of the land. Furthermore, they did not pay taxes, but instead gave an optional “gratuit” or gift to the king at the end of the year.
The Second Estate was made up of the Nobility - the Nobles of the Sword and the Nobles of the Robe. They possessed time honoured privileges, owned 25% of the land, and like the First Estate, did not pay taxes.
Finally, at the bottom of the “pyramid”, sat the Third Estate. Basically, it was everyone else. It was made up of middle class, or bourgeoisie. They were the lawyers, doctors and other educated professionals who were growing increasingly disillusioned at their inability to move up in French society. Just below them were the “Great Unwashed” - the merchants, cobblers, urban and rural peasants who bore the brunt of the taxes and all other burdens for the nation. The seeds for revolution were born in this very system, and the fruit it would bear would indeed be deadly.
Music during their reigns: - The first operas appeared in France during the mid-17th century. While the first operas were experimental, opera was soon met with considerable enthusiasm in Paris, especially the operas based on the Italian opera of the time. During the reign of Louis XIV, Italian-style opera began to flourish in France. During the French Enlightenment, the theatre became a place where political and social ideas were considered myths and superstitions were tested. The nobility had a lot to do with the uprising of theatre during this time. Louis XIV, who is known as the "Sun King" for playing the allegorical character of the sun in "The Ballet of the Night" in 1653
French harpsichord music of the baroque period was of high quality. It consisted mostly of suites of dance movements and short character pieces (often with descriptive titles) rather than the longer preludes and fugues, toccatas, and fantasias cultivated by the Germans. Representative composers were Jacques Champion de Chambonnieres, Louis Couperin, Francois Couperin, (see Couperin, family), and Rameau. All, but especially Francois Couperin, influenced the development of keyboard fingering and technique. Rameau also wrote theoretical treatises, and his theory of harmony has influenced the teaching of the subject to the present day. He was the first to introduce the clarinet into the orchestra, and it was adopted by the composers of the Mannheim school and by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Francois Joseph Gossec became the pioneer composer of symphonies in France. The period from about 1750 to 1850 was a fallow one in French music. Paris was a center for musicians from other countries, such as Frederic Chopin and Franz Liszt. Music by French composers consisted mostly of inferior operas or empty, virtuosic salon pieces. A notable exception were the works of Hector Berlioz, the greatest of the French Romantics, who expanded the orchestra and who’s grand style influenced Richard Wagner during the reign of Louis XVI
Conclusion: -
Louis XIV and Louis XVI were both artistic people. They both loved art and music but had different class systems. From all this research I have come to know a lot about the two most famous French rulers one known for how good he ruled the monarchy and the other known for destroying the whole French monarchy.
Annotated bibliography:-
1) Encyclopædia Britannica Online, s. v. "Louis XVI style", accessed October 05, 2014,http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/349146/Louis-XVI-style.
This source provides information all about how Louis XVI was interested in arts and music.
It was a very useful article as it provided a lot of information to help me write the topic.
2) Encyclopædia Britannica Online, s. v. "Louis XVI", accessed October 05, 2014,http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/349122/Louis-XVI.
This topic was very useful as it helped me understand all about Louis XVI.
It helped me find lots of information on my topic about his lifestyle and how much he loved art.
3) Encyclopædia Britannica Online, s. v. "house of Bourbon", accessed October 05, 2014, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/75716/house-of-Bourbon.
This article told about the history of French art and culture. It was very useful in order to understand the topic. It gave me lots of details regarding my topic.
4) Louis XIV and the Parlements: The Assertion of Royal Authority by John J. Hurt
Review by: William Beik
Past & Present, No. 188 (Aug., 2005), pp. 195-224
Published by: Oxford University Press on behalf of The Past and Present Society
Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3600836
This article told me all about the lifestyle of Louis XIV. It told me all about his court life and artists during his reign. This information was very useful for my
topic.
https://download.elearningontario.ca/repository/1090410000/versailles.html
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/349122/Louis-XVI
‘
Submitted by: - Avaljot Kaur Randhawa
Submitted to: -Ms. Finn
Course code: -CHY 4U7
Due date: -6th Oct, 2014
Introduction
Louis xiv and Louis xvi were the two rulers of France. Louis XIV (1638-1715) exemplified the characteristics of absolute monarchy during his 72-year reign. He created the most centralized nation state in Europe and gave birth to a new sense of French nationhood. The monarchy as the personification of the state is epitomized in the palace and gardens of Versailles. He was one of the best rulers of France. But Louis XVI was not as great as his great grandfather. Louis XVI, also called …show more content…
(until 1774) Louis-Auguste, duc de Berry (born Aug. 23, 1754, Versailles, France—died Jan. 21, 1793, Paris), the last king of France (1774–92) in the line of Bourbon monarchs preceding the French Revolution of 1789. The monarchy was abolished on Sept. 21, 1792; later Louis and his queen consort, Marie-Antoinette, were guillotined on charges of counterrevolution. After 1789 Louis XVI’s incapacity to rule, his irresolution, and his surrender to reactionary influences at court were partially responsible for the failure to establish in France the forms of a limited constitutional monarchy. He allowed himself to be persuaded that royal dignity required him to avoid communication with the deputies assembled at Versailles, and he made no attempt to lay out a program that might have attracted their support. At critical moments, he was distracted by the illness and death of his eldest son, the dauphin (June 4, 1789)
Louis XVI
Louis XIV
Interest in arts: -Louis xiv was very interested in arts. He was the protector of writers, notably Molière and Jean Racine, whom he ordered to sing his praises, and he imposed his own visions of beauty and nature on artists. France’s appearance and way of life were changed; the great towns underwent a metamorphosis, the landscape was altered, and monuments arose everywhere. The King energetically devoted himself to building new residences. All the power of the government was brought to bear in the construction of Versailles. French sculpture reached a new zenith at this time, after the mediocrity of the first half of the century. François Girardon was a favourite of the King and did several portrait sculptures of him, as well as the tomb of the cardinal de Richelieu, the greatest artist in the history of European landscape architecture, worked with the King, designing vistas, fountains, and many other outdoor arrangements. Louis XIV loved water and fountains. Water gardens embroider the grounds, and fountains further embellish the garden pools. From the start, Versailles was conceived as a showcase of French arts and craftsmanship – especially those from the royal workshops of the Paris Globelins manufacturing. French style in architecture came to dominate European culture.
Louis xvi also showed an interest in arts and architecture. The predominant style in architecture, painting, sculpture, and the decorative arts was Neoclassicism, a style that had come into its own during the last years of Louis XV’s life, Jacques-Louis David was the most important painter of the reign of Louis XVI; his severe compositions recalling the style of the earlier painter Nicolas Poussin are documents extolling republican virtues. The foremost sculptor of the reign of Louis XVI was Jean-Antoine Houdon (1741–1828). He portrayed a number of the most prominent men of his day, often in classical togas. The lavish court style of Louis and Marie Antoinette, his young queen, gave impetus to the highly skilled ébénistes, or cabinetmakers, of the period. Whereas the general style of furniturewas again neoclassic (i.e., straight, simple lines and classical motifs), the workmanship was as complicated and as finely performed as in any period to date. Jean-Henri Riesener and Bernard van Risenburgh were two of the foremost cabinetmakers, filling commissions for Mme du Barry as well as for the Queen. Many of the ébénistes, including Riesener, were German craftsmen who, nevertheless, contributed to the tradition of French furniture. Other makers of luxury items benefited from the excesses of the court, chief among them the porcelain manufactory at Sèvres.
Class system during their reigns: - The palace and gardens of Versailles – built in four separate stages and completed in 1682 – became the epicenter of French government and cultural life and influenced imitation.
In this “Hollywood of the 17th century”, Louis encouraged the nobility to busy themselves with gossip, hunting, affairs of the heart, ceremonial tasks, and elaborate court etiquette. Nobles vied for ceremonial, but highly paid and highly respected, offices such as Master of the Royal Tennis Courts and Master of the Royal Clocks. Elaborate rituals performed by eager and privileged nobility accompanied the king’s rising in the morning and retiring at night. The Chapel Royal l where Louis attended daily mass is an impressive architectural accomplishment in the palace. Louis tried to unite his country under the Roman Catholic faith. In 1685, he revoked the Edict of Nantes, which had given equal rights to the Huguenots in …show more content…
France.
After centuries of class division, oppressive taxes, and an unequal distribution of the country's wealth, the ingredients for change were present during Louis xvi’s reign. The people of France were, comparatively speaking, a literate and self-aware culture. French society was divided into levels known as the Three Estate System. The First Estate consisted of the clergy, who, despite representing only about one half a per cent of the population, held 10% of the land. Furthermore, they did not pay taxes, but instead gave an optional “gratuit” or gift to the king at the end of the year.
The Second Estate was made up of the Nobility - the Nobles of the Sword and the Nobles of the Robe. They possessed time honoured privileges, owned 25% of the land, and like the First Estate, did not pay taxes.
Finally, at the bottom of the “pyramid”, sat the Third Estate. Basically, it was everyone else. It was made up of middle class, or bourgeoisie. They were the lawyers, doctors and other educated professionals who were growing increasingly disillusioned at their inability to move up in French society. Just below them were the “Great Unwashed” - the merchants, cobblers, urban and rural peasants who bore the brunt of the taxes and all other burdens for the nation. The seeds for revolution were born in this very system, and the fruit it would bear would indeed be deadly.
Music during their reigns: - The first operas appeared in France during the mid-17th century. While the first operas were experimental, opera was soon met with considerable enthusiasm in Paris, especially the operas based on the Italian opera of the time. During the reign of Louis XIV, Italian-style opera began to flourish in France. During the French Enlightenment, the theatre became a place where political and social ideas were considered myths and superstitions were tested. The nobility had a lot to do with the uprising of theatre during this time. Louis XIV, who is known as the "Sun King" for playing the allegorical character of the sun in "The Ballet of the Night" in 1653
French harpsichord music of the baroque period was of high quality. It consisted mostly of suites of dance movements and short character pieces (often with descriptive titles) rather than the longer preludes and fugues, toccatas, and fantasias cultivated by the Germans. Representative composers were Jacques Champion de Chambonnieres, Louis Couperin, Francois Couperin, (see Couperin, family), and Rameau. All, but especially Francois Couperin, influenced the development of keyboard fingering and technique. Rameau also wrote theoretical treatises, and his theory of harmony has influenced the teaching of the subject to the present day. He was the first to introduce the clarinet into the orchestra, and it was adopted by the composers of the Mannheim school and by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Francois Joseph Gossec became the pioneer composer of symphonies in France. The period from about 1750 to 1850 was a fallow one in French music. Paris was a center for musicians from other countries, such as Frederic Chopin and Franz Liszt. Music by French composers consisted mostly of inferior operas or empty, virtuosic salon pieces. A notable exception were the works of Hector Berlioz, the greatest of the French Romantics, who expanded the orchestra and who’s grand style influenced Richard Wagner during the reign of Louis XVI
Conclusion: -
Louis XIV and Louis XVI were both artistic people. They both loved art and music but had different class systems. From all this research I have come to know a lot about the two most famous French rulers one known for how good he ruled the monarchy and the other known for destroying the whole French monarchy.
Annotated bibliography:-
1) Encyclopædia Britannica Online, s. v. "Louis XVI style", accessed October 05, 2014,http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/349146/Louis-XVI-style.
This source provides information all about how Louis XVI was interested in arts and music.
It was a very useful article as it provided a lot of information to help me write the topic.
2) Encyclopædia Britannica Online, s. v. "Louis XVI", accessed October 05, 2014,http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/349122/Louis-XVI.
This topic was very useful as it helped me understand all about Louis XVI.
It helped me find lots of information on my topic about his lifestyle and how much he loved art.
3) Encyclopædia Britannica Online, s. v. "house of Bourbon", accessed October 05, 2014, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/75716/house-of-Bourbon.
This article told about the history of French art and culture. It was very useful in order to understand the topic. It gave me lots of details regarding my topic.
4) Louis XIV and the Parlements: The Assertion of Royal Authority by John J. Hurt
Review by: William Beik
Past & Present, No. 188 (Aug., 2005), pp. 195-224
Published by: Oxford University Press on behalf of The Past and Present Society
Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3600836
This article told me all about the lifestyle of Louis XIV. It told me all about his court life and artists during his reign. This information was very useful for my
topic.
https://download.elearningontario.ca/repository/1090410000/versailles.html
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/349122/Louis-XVI
‘