The picture to the left shows Louis XIV's grand 17th-century palace at Versailles. It displays the sheer opulence of this absolute monarchy, in what was Europe's richest and most populous and influential nation. It also shows the renewed hold of a classical style, seen to be most prestigious for public beatings. What else did it suggest?Architecture is sometimes thought to be the most socially and historically revealing of all the arts because it depends most heavily on public support; it is harder for architects, particularly dealing with public buildings, to be as idiosyncratic as painters or poets may be.
You can click on the artist depiction of Versailles to make it larger. As you look at it closely, I would like you to consider and discuss the following: What kinds of intentions on the part of Louis and his advisers does this building represent? How can Versailles be interpreted as a statement of absolute monarchy in addition to its obvious showiness? What are the relationships to nature and to spatial arrangement? What would the palace represent to an ordinary French person? To an aristocrat? Your thoughts...
57 comments:
well the picture is amazingg! everything is symmetrical and perfect like Louis himself stood at the ariel view and planed out the whole landscape to be perfect. i wouldnt mind living in a place like that(: Because everything looks nice and such, it does show how much power he did have. and plus, it looks like versailles is in a a little valley. It made it look like the palace was the center of everything.
This picture not only shows louis 's wealth but also just how self sentered in a way, he was. everything revolves around him, jsut as we mentioned in class from him being the sun king. its more like what can you do for louis than what can he do for you. the architecture and landscape shows how big he wants versailles and other surrounding areas to grow. if that palace is just for him, i imagine he doesnt want just his palace and a little area around it to rule. he wants more land. To an ordinary french person the palace shows you where you stand, it puts you in your place. it demonstrates jsut how much of everything louis has. he can overrun you with anything.
this picture displays absolute monarchy by the palace's 'showiness', central location, and dominant size compared to everything around it. this suggests that Louis XIV thought very very highly of himself and wanted to make sure that the french people knew that he was THE absolute power. like you said in class today, he liked his nickname, the "Sun King", a lot...
Well, I'm in French so I've learned a little about Versailles. I know that King Louis had a monsterous ego so outside his bedroom, he had mirrors put in from floor to ceiling and across from them are doorways so when the sun came up, the light would reflect off the mirrors and make it seem like "the sun king was rising." It definitely showed he was wealthy, and that he had enough money and power to control anything and anyone around him.
The gardens on either side of the building aren't symmetrical =D
Like everyone else has said, it might show control and power to an ordinary French citizen. To an aristocrat, it might show protection... I'm not sure, but it looks like a huge army in the back that leads off into the mountains.
During lunch today when you were showing some of the pictures from your trip, I think one was of that courtyard in the middle u-shaped building... You pointed out the golden clock at the top center of the wall, which represented the Sun King, and this shows Louis' power and such.
WOW
really, its amazing!
what better way could you tell people "I am THE sun king." the palace is huge! louis proved to the people of france that he was the only ruler. its very intimidating to people from other areas and aristocrats as well. especially considering the fact that the aristocrats' families were kept there and that louis was waaaaaay more powerful and had a million times as much money as them! the palace does seem a little over the top though... but i guess that was the point...
oh.. i forgot! what was the circle in front of the palace used for? does anyone know? i was just curious
The palace seems to be a place where everything is happening, revolving around Louis. It also seems large enough to hold a lot of nobles so Louis can keep a close eye on the ones that remained in France. It's intention was probably to show France's wealth and power at the time and how self-centered the king was. It was probably a huge waste of tax money though, which might have angered some of the peasants.
In my opinion it doesn't look exactly like a palace that a king would live in. It looks more like a parliment building than anything else. It looks very fancy compared to anything of it's time.
what does it look like present day?
It is a gorgeous place. Everything is centered around his palace and not to mention it takes up about 65% of the entire landscape. Nothing is in front of it. It is like you can see everything out that window in the palace. It kind of shows how showy and self centered he was about being the "sun king". You can also see little merchants coming through the roads. It seems like the economy wasn't that bad.
its huge. they want to show how much power they have over everyone and everything. and yes theresa it is amazing.
Wow Mr.Prill did you go there? Lucky. I like how it was huge and made just for one person. I guess it showed everybody that if he wanted something he expected to get it. He wanted it his way no exceptions.
mr. hooper, if you want to see some present day versailles, come by my room during lunch, i'd be happy to show some photos to you, i took a ton!
Well it is what I would expect from a ABSOLUTE monarch. It is pretty easy to see that his thoughts revolved around himself. This palace is also a great way to put the french in their place. Even the noble that he detested must see how this palace can show how he is better......lol quote from shriek that reminds me of this "maybe he is making up for something with how big the palace is" *wink wink*
wow.. thats not weird at all delaney. but thats hilarious
was it really big because it showed his power or because he had like his families live with?
well, certainly it's his residence, as well as the residence of the rest of the royal family and guests.
well i figured him and his close family like wife and stuff lived there. but like did his kids and their kids live there? to like keep the family close.
yes, that's what i meant about the entire royal family.
Yeah, it looks nice and everything, but this picture doesn't make me think for one second that the french are one bit amazing.
Is this one of the places that the Europe trip people go to? i wish i could go there, but my mum wont send me....
no, this year's europe trip is going to poland, germany, the czech republic, and hungary during the summer.
and then of course there's my CHINA (!!!) trip in july. i still have 7 spots open folks if you're still thinking about it!
I think he wanted to make everyone know he was the only absolute power in France. His palace shows that he is superior. I think that he shows his control by not waiting for saplings to grow so he just transplanted trees into is land.
The picture really shows the amount of power that Louis XIV really had as king. According to this picture it seems has he was very egocentric and everythign had to go his way. THis kinca explains why he called himself the sun king. It seems as Louis only wanted the palace for himself and wanted to stay isolated from the rest of France. So basically he wanted to rule, but saty isolated at the same time.wow. I think the French people today look at this palace and really admire Louis for the great accomplishments he made.
This picture shows the imense amount of wealth louis possesed. There is so much architecture that looks to be very detailed as well as the landscaping. It looks like the center of everything with its enormous size.
Wow, still laughing from Matthew V's comment! Great, I might need a homework pass for this one. I thought Candy Land would do great in tearing down this society. I also realize that nobody knows what at all I'm talking about, but there's nothing unusual about that.
haha prill, you're still advertising for china..
I really like this picture, even though it comes across as very selfish, and rather self-oriented around Louis. Everything looks elegant and like an extremely wealthy area, and i would assume it would attract common French people because of its beauty. When i looked at this picture, the first thought that came into my mind was "Wow, I would wanna go there." I imagine that aristocrats would also enjoy the architecture, and maybe wish to visit, or maybe they would keep their distance for they may think they are just as wealthy as king louis is showing.
(I still wanna go!)
Prill you mentioned in class that Louis decided to build Versailles when he was 8 years old? I think that amazing that he was able to do that at such a young age. I assume that he had some help of course but i am interested in how much of a role he had in making decisions when he was in his early reign and how much he was helped by some of his family members. But the picture is amazing. I always amazed at how they can build such large buildings and perfectly angled gardens and lakes without modern machinery. And I then it reminds me of the societies like the Romans and Egyptians who were able to do the same thing way before the French, too.
mr. nash, the actual decision to build versailles wasn't made at the age of 8 for him, but fear of parisian nobles did at that young age, and he never forgot that attempt on his life. he knew he'd only be safe outside of paris, and his the decision is later made to set up the palace in the parisian suburb of versailles.
Well obviously the first thing I noticed was how exquisite and astounding the architecture and design of this grand palace was. It was obviously a sign of his power, but if you pay attention you'll notice something else. The palace has entrances surrounding it, like everything is coming into the palace, giving the illusion of a centralized power, showing the sheer Absolutism of France, and how Louis had absolute power! Also the sheer size of the palace compared to the other houses, shows how much higher up Louis is than his subjects...You see they can gather in that area in the front, as if he kind of has control, that in that area they are trapped under his power, his absolute rule. Any ordinary French person would be shocked and awed, a true sign of authority and power, an aristocrat would probably be jealous and hope for that kind of wealth and power. It really shows how Louis had more power than anyone in society, more wealth than aristocrats, and power over the commonwealth. The sheer size and revolving, centralized features truly give testament to his title "The Sun King."
I find the gardens and the bodies of water extraordinary, did they funnel a river into the palace to provide water for gardens and the people? Or did they build over a lake or something? Either way its spectacular, especially the way they have all these individual areas of lush green plants, and agricultural areas where farmers would work in the palace grounds to grow food.
This shows the self-centered attitude of Louis XIV becasue everything is so opulent and EVERYTHING is almost perfectly symmetrical. even every tree that had to be planted because he didnt want to wait for some to grow. it looks to me more like a whole city but i did accomodate the closely-watched court. The sun kings political system of his divine right can easily be shown by the management of his palace.
I don't think you can see it in the picture but when I went there there was a large fountain based on a legend where people were turning into frogs. At the bottom was people and the further to the top you go the more the people would look like frogs. For example they would have a frogs head or webbed hands and feet. At the top the people had completely turned into frogs. I can't remember if this was a Roman legend but if it was then it shows Louis XIV love of the Roman empire like you were talking about yesterday Prill.
Louis XIV makes this palace look like a symbol of power. Its in the middle of a valley showing that its the center of everything. The size of the palace shows that he is compensating for something. haha
Also, it shows that it has absolute domiance over the land it resides.
The Palace of Versailles is smack dab in the center of the city so it basically shows that the palace is the control center and that they have the biggest decision in all. The landscaping shows that they were very much interested in nature and design. The landscaping and architecture seem perfect. They have agriculture right next to the palace. Most likely for protection. the size is ridiculous big as well. It kind of demonstrates all the power the King has compared to everyone else.
The palace at Versailles was just one way that Louis XIV could impose his on the people. The ornate and elegant palace just shows how much power and money that the "Sun King" has. The symmetry shows his absolute power, and proves that even nature must conform to him.
Haha David... compensating for something!
it defenitly shows that he has absolute power because of its location and how big it is. it is like in the middle of a valley or city or something and the whole town revolves around him. it would sort of be like a slap in the face to nobles becuase they used to have some power or say but king louis is defenitly showing that things have changed with versailles and how he ran his country.
As the picture suggests, Versailles is the new power in France. After France emerged as one of the new powers of Europe, they set up a style of governing known as an absolute monarchy. Louis XIV did a great job establishing that he was the only ruler that France would look up to. Versailles symbolizes Louis's desire for a tight nit community. On the other hand it symbolizes his fear of nobles overpowering him. And of course being the "sun king", he resides right in the middle.
In Louis XIV's palace, he had a lined hallway with mirrors, which you can't necessarily see in this picture, so that when the sun rose, the palace seemed to glow making it seem like the sun was really shining straight from his palace. This showed that he thought, as his nickname "Sun God" suggests, he was the center of everything. Clearly, he must have already known about the heliocentric idea if he made the reference to the sun being the center. Also, around the palace, you see that everything seems to be shaped almost perfectly. Everything organized. This could show how he had control over the surrounding area. The landscape was simply one way to show his authority of not only nature but man as well.
holy cow. this palace would intimidate anyone. from the first time you see it it yells "POWER" at you. i think it's kind of funny how he surrounded the palace with manicured greenery, as though it too, like the rest of the world, revolved around his majesty and did his royal bidding.
sooo this picture is like my dream home. it pretty much amazing! it kinda demonstrates the difference in people and how much money they had. question: were there any other houses or palaces rather that were that extravigant or was it just louis?
I believe that all of the symmetry was to symbolize that Louis thought of himself as perfect. The size of the property proves that he really did have a lot of power.
Hm.... seems to me that Louis was pretty conceited. In class, you talked about how he called himself the sun god because everything revolved around him. You also said he had a "spartan fetish" in which there would be a sculpture of a spartan body with HIS head replaced on to the original. This clearly shows how much of an ego he has. To me, it seems as if versailles was a reflection of him in his own imagination. Rich, Wonderful, and beautiful. Versailles probably covered alot of land because he wanted to show off.
That palace is huge. I know that he had enough money to build it, but why did it have to be so extravegant? I always wondered how they made buildings like that without the technology we have today, like machines and vehicles nd stuff like that. When did he build this? From reading what you've typed, it wasn't actually at the age of 8, that was only when someone tried to smother him in paris. Did he move right after that or later?
wow the castle is amazing!
since the big part of the casstle is in the middel i think it symbolizes how loius XIV thought he was the center of the universe
It is very large, eloquent, and orderly. It has to be fancy to suit him. There is a definite center to the entire place, where he would be the sun in the center of the universe. :P It is huge, long, and takes up a lot of space, going way into the distance.
Hey Mr. Prill i just tried to post a comment but i think that it was loged in under my sisters name anna so if you get one from her then it was suppost to be from me....but just in case you didnt get it it asked how much land it took up and it also asked if the people liked what Louis was doing or if they just had to go with the flow so that their families wouldnt not be killed?
to answer your question miss duncan, the lake in the back itself is a mile long, if that gives you any idea... as far as the feelings of the people, it's hard to get a good gauge in a society of censorship. essentially people had to go along with it. i'd suggest you the bishop bossuet's comments on absolutism that i also posted, because he explains exactly how to keep the people content in such a system.
miss green, st. petersburg in russia (we'll talk about it at the beginning of next semester) is certainly up there in opulence. i'm actually thinking very seriously about doing a student trip to russia summer 2010. anyone interested?
The grandness of the Versailles sort of reminds me of Ghengis Khan's palace in Kanbaliq. The size is overwhelming. I think the size portrays absolute power of the king. Just like the Mongols, they were trying to tell their citizens that the only one who can live in a house that big is the king.
To me the palaces placement and beauty are the two most dominant features of the painting. Its placement shows how the absolute leader was placed first and the rest of the people are in his train. The beauty of it shows how the ruler is able to command such a large task force to make this masterpiece.
This building shows that Louis is in charge. He can do whatever the hell he wants. Also, as we talked about in class, he made the nobles come one a year to do basically demeaning chores to show them that he was in charge. Also, the noble's families were forced to live their. To an ordinary peasant or w/e, im sure they were overwhelmed by the splendor and probably thought that it showed how powerful and great france was. To the aristocrats it probably reminded them of how much power they didnt have, and it was kinda of like a five star prison for them as well.
I noticed the 2 lines of soldiers in either entering or leaving... but when I looked at the picture a little closer, I saw the massive army in the back. But, when I look at the picture of Versaille, and Louis XIV's Castle. It looks weak on defense, if the enemy were to come from the sides and simultaneously attack coming down from the mountains. It's beautiful and all, but I think he should've worked on building some walls around the thing or something.
The main thing that I noticed is that each little gathering of buildings (or maybe its the walls, I can't tell) form corsses (look at the second one back to really see it...) I see that as a message about the church... It does show that he ran his country very orderly with nothing out of place... which can sometimes be a good thing... lol
The palace obviously represents power. but louis liked fashion and he wanted the people to like him so he could easily rule. so the palace is nice on the eyes.If i was a peasant looking at the palace i would think to myself, Our king is a big and powerful man to have built this and if he is powerful he is a great and wonderful ruler. and if i was an aristocrat i would think, King Louis is very powerfull i wouldn't want to invade his lands at all. so the palace served for more than just sleeping.
Versailles shows the power that the king had to make this, and represented his rule. I think that the palace would look extraordinary to a foreigner who has never seen it before.
Picture Perfect is what comes to my mind. Shows wealth, power, and everything great. Oppulent is defined here. To the ordinary french person i would say it shows absolute monarchy and if i were the everyday french girl i would say to myself his way or the highway haha but to the aritocrat i would say security.
by the way, i would love to see your pictures from when you went during break!!!
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