The Fabrication of Louis XIV

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 commemora...