Louis XIV - The Sun King: What Did He Look Like? | History Documentary | Royalty Now

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King Louis XIV ruled over France for 72 years (he even beat Queen Elizabeth II for longest reign in history). He is famous for constructing Versailles, one of the most magnificent palaces ever built.

0:00 Early Life
6:23 Absolute Power
9:30 Military Conquests
12:53 The Arts & Versailles
16:49 Louis vs. the Grand Alliance
19:02 War of the Spanish Succession
24:15 Death
25:08 What did Louis Look Like?

What did the illustrious Sun King really look like?

Narration & Art: Becca Segovia
Writing, Editing & Music Direction: Andre Segovia

Louis was not difficult to bring to life, given just how much he loved his own image. There are hundreds of portraits of Louis that were created during his long life, basically from birth, and all the way to old age.

Now, obviously these paintings are propaganda - meant to show the strength of Louis’ Absolute Rule over France. But surprisingly, they show his features quite consistently throughout his life. We see the same arching brows. A thin, hooked nose, and cleft chin in every depiction.

Louis was a king famous for his sense of fashion, and most notably - his hair. In fact, his hair was kind of “his thing.” Louis actually began balding in his early twenties, and he was already wearing partial hair extensions in this portrait. He transitioned to full wigs later on in life, and even set the trend for them. He is actually the reason we see American founding fathers wearing wigs even almost a century later.

You can see the evolution in portraits, as his lifestyle got even more grand, and his power even more absolute. His early portraits look regal but simple, and move into extravagance as he gets older.

The famous work by Hyacinthe Rigaud is one of the most famous portraits of the Sun King, showing unnaturally young legs, a huge wig, and a completely lustrous environment. But again, it’s interesting that Louis didn’t seem as concerned with touching up his face or looking more handsome in these images - he was just concerned with the impression of power that they gave. Louis originally commissioned this portrait as a gift for his grandson, but ended up loving it so much he kept it for himself, which I actually find hilarious.

The reason we know this image is fairly accurate to how Louis really looked, is it matches this honestly unsettling waxwork made by Antoine Benoist. Benoist created a gallery of Waxworks long before the time of Madame Taussaud, who made the famous death mask of Marie Antoinette I worked from.

Waxworks became really popular in France because of their accuracy, and people would travel from all over to see the true face of the King. The work impressed Louis, who gave Benoist the title of Premiere Sculpteur.

Since his reign was so long, I’ve re-created Louis around the age of 24, referencing the portrait by Charles Le Brun from around 1661, as well as at the age of 63, referencing the famous portrait by Hyacinthe Riguad painted around 1700.
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