The history of art

The history of art consists history of any product made by human being in the form of visual to
deliver a precise information, express ideas, emotions and the world overview. The visual art has
evolved over time and has been classified in various ways from the different between liberal arts and
merchant arts to the modern distinction that differentiate fine arts and applied arts. History of art
is a manifestation of human creativity that has evolved to the modern art. The type of art such as
Rigaud’s depiction of Louis XIV, Baroque painters and Rigaud’s Philip V (1701) are among the human art
that will be discussed.

Hyacinthe Rigaud, Louis XIV, 1701, oil on canvas, 9’2” x 6’3”. Musée du Louvre, Paris, courtesy of the
online Grove Dictionary of Art.
Hyacinthe Rigaud was famous for painting the royal portrait of King Louis XIV. He was fortunate
to live during the reign of the French Kings who ruled with monarchical power. King Louis XIV (1638-
1715) was a sign of authority and wealth attained through divine right and under no constitutional
supremacy. Rigaud had artistic information in mind that he wanted to reflect to the public at the time
of this work. From the picture, Rigaud wanted to pass the mode of dressing during this century.
The portrait represents a full body display of King Louis XIV standing at the center of the
painting having a slight tilt of his head to maintain the assertiveness and directness of a typical
French king. The top part of the painting is covered with crimson red silk hanging over the king’s
head. The king is adorned with a coronation robe highlighting an aspect of King’s expected outfits of
the time. The material made out of the robe is black and white ermine fur with stylized lily patterns
on the robe that represented the king’s greatness. The king’s sword in the painting hangs from the
waist beautified by several colorful jewels while still holding in his right hand the royal scepter1.

Rigaud, Hyacinthe. Philip V, King of Spain, 1701, oil on canvas, National Museum of Versailles and the
Trianon, Versailles

In this figure, the crown on the table represents kingship in the portrait. The faded red carpet
captured by Rigaud was symbolic to some extent. The portrait of the king full body is painted in a
directed posture and display of his covered legs to symbolize the youthful state of the king2. The king
is within the vertical line while the royal crown and scepter positioned within the curved line of the
painting5. In both paintings, Rigaud uses free-form shapes creating a striking symmetrical balance
where Louis XIV and King Philip V are at the center of the portrait. Borrowing from Baroque painting
antics, Rigaud had something to depict to the public concerning this artifact straight from the items
in the background to those in the foreground2.
Comparing the two portraits, it can be concluded that the fashion during kings’ reigns was that of a
robe made of fine material. The king’s robe was a coronation robe worn during the period the king was
taking over power to rule a state4. This was a depiction of the supremacy of the King. The King was an
icon of fashion based on his sycophant dressing styles1. King Louis XIV era of the reign was marred by
a difference in the dressing style of men from the Pantaloon breeches, Rhine grave breaches, cannons
and jabots to mention a few. The design of cloth shown in the portrait is known as Mme. De Sevigne. The
King wore such clothes.
The history of the heel shoes can be traced back to the French history specifically to the king. King
Louis XIV portrait displays the design of aristocratic red heeled shoes that was one of its kinds in
that era symbolizing a man of class. Men who wore these high-heeled shoes were men of class, rich
people. Kings and fellow dignitaries of the time wore these shoes.
The portrait of King Louis XIV shows that he was a dancer, based on the posture. Ballet dancing style
was the famous dancing style in the French-speaking nations and Louis XIV from birth participated in
the Ballet competitions. He is remembered in history during his young age his wonderful performance in
the Ballet of the Night performance with his golden costume, hence the name the Sun King3. At the time
of the Rigaud’s portrait, he had retired from the dancing but left a legacy by building ballet halls in
his courts for the younger generation to learn. The main point Rigaud wanted to bring to attention
while making the portrait of King Louis XIV legs was for people to recall his profession ballet dancing
skills.

Van Dyck, Anthony. Charles 1 (Stuart), 1701, oil on canvas, courtesy of the online Grove Dictionary of
Art, Oxford.

In comparison to Rigaud’s works, the portrait of King Charles by Anthony Van Dyck in the above figure
bears significant differences from King Louis XIV painting. The mode of dressing is totally different
from that of the English kings; there is preferential to the lightweight costumes and no exposure of
legs, with the use of knee length boots4. The pose depicted in portrait shows no dancing patterns among
the English kings, rather a sign of authority in the way of standing.
In conclusion, the modes of dressing as demonstrated in the three paintings shows that there were
differences in the way the English and the French kings wore their fashions. Additionally, male fashion
changed immensely from time to time. The fashion and the dancing of the noble French men inspired the
painters of the time. Therefore, the state portraits explained the history of costumes and that of
various dancers. However, the fashion art of the earlier painting has changed dramatically, and the
modern artists use modern painting to pass certain information with the aid of a computer.

Endnotes
1Alexander, Julia Marciari. “Portraiture and Royal Family Ties: Kings, Queens, Princes, and Princesses
in Caroline England.” Gender and Childhood in Early Modern Constructions of Childhood (2011): 209-222.
2Campbell, Peter Robert. Louis XIV. Routledge, 2014.
3Franko, Mark. Dance as text: ideologies of the baroque body. Oxford University Press, USA, 2015.
4Köhler, C. (2012). A history of costume. Courier Corporation.
5Williams, Hannah. Académie Royale: A History in Portraits. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2015.
Work cited
Alexander, Julia Marciari. “Portraiture and Royal Family Ties: Kings, Queens, Princes, and Princesses
in Caroline England.” Gender and Childhood in Early Modern Constructions of Childhood (2011): 209-222.
Campbell, Peter Robert. Louis XIV. Routledge, 2014.
Franko, Mark. Dance as text: ideologies of the baroque body. Oxford University Press, USA, 2015.
Köhler, C. (2012). A history of costume. Courier Corporation.
Williams, Hannah. Académie Royale: A History in Portraits. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2015.
Appendix
Figure 1

Hyacinthe Rigaud, Louis XIV, 1701, oil on canvas, 9’2” x 6’3”. Musée du Louvre, Paris, courtesy of the
online Grove Dictionary of Art.
Figure 2:

Rigaud, Hyacinthe. Philip V, King of Spain, 1701, oil on canvas, National Museum of Versailles and the
Trianon, Versailles
Figure 3

Van Dyck, Anthony. Charles 1 (Stuart), 1701, oil on canvas, courtesy of the online Grove Dictionary of
Art, Oxford.

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