Louis XIV was a widely depicted figure in the seventeenth and the eighteenth centuries—in paintings, drawings, tapestries, gold boxes, medals, and sculpture. He is depicted here as a dashing young man, powerful and victorious after a war. He wants France to become the leading power in Europe and is rapidly transforming Versailles, which became his main residence. This gilt-bronze, which was made to celebrate his victory at the close of a war with Spain, stood atop a 12-foot or about 4 meter high cabinet. The piece is treated as a sculpture, a piece of art in its own right. This level of quality and detail on an object you probably wouldn’t have been able to see very closely is often a clue that it was intended for someone of high rank.
Figure of Louis XIV
This sculpture, which may have been part of the so-called Cabinet of Apollo made after designs by Charles Le Brun, was among the first works of art produced at the Gobelins for Louis XIV (r. 1661–1715). The subjects depicted were intended to celebrate the king's glory at the close of a lengthy war against Spain. Louis XIV is shown seated on a lion's pelt—associated with Hercules—wearing armor, and draped in a cloak. He holds a scepter and an Apollo shield, one of his emblems. The upper part of the shield has been partially erased. The lion's pelt, porphyry rock, and scepter are later additions.
