TURNING POINTS IN THE
REIGN OF LOUIS XIV (1643-1715)
1648-53: The Fronde
1661: The King declares on the death of Cardinal Mazarin
that he will henceforth be his own chief minister
1672-78: Franco-Dutch War
1685: Revocation of the Edict of Nantes
1688-97: War of the League of Augsburg (9 Years’ War)
1701-14: War of Spanish Succession (famine & bread riots
in 1709/10)
1715: Death of the Sun King; succeeded by his greatgrandson Louis XV
Cardinal Mazarin, Anne of Austria, and King Louis XIII
MAJOR UPRISINGS OF THE FRONDE, 1648-53
The movement began in
Paris with a popular
uprising to free judges
imprisoned for
questioning the legality
of Mazarin’s new taxes.
By 1650 the movement
was dominated by
princes who had
quarreled with Richelieu
and Mazarin.
Medallion of Cardinal Mazarin (1602-1661),
struck around 1660; he is shown as Hercules sharing the
burden of the globe with Atlas/Louis XIV
The young Louis XIV,
dressed as
“The Sun,”
dances in the
“Ballet de la Nuit”
(1653)
Jean Nocret, “The Family of Louis XIV” (1670)
Louise de la Valliere (1644-1710) and her royal children
The Marquise de
Montespan
(1640-1707),
the King’s mistress
from 1667 until
1680
JeanBaptiste
Colbert
(1666)
Pierre Patel, “View of the Chateau de Versailles”
in 1668, as the King’s coach arrives
Van der Meulen, “Versailles under Construction” (1669)
P.D. Martin, “Chateau of Versailles,” 1722
Charles Riviere, “View of the Gardens of Versailles”
(and the rear of the palace)
Palace of Versailles, Entrance
The King’s Apartments, Palace of Versailles
Palace of Versailles: The Hall of Mirrors
Charles Le Brun, “Entry of Alexander into Babylon” (ca. 1664)
Charles Le Brun, “The Decision of Louis XIV
to Make War on the Dutch Republic in 1671”
(study for the decoration of the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles)
Louis XIV leads
his army into
the Netherlands
in 1672
THE MODEST TERRITORIAL GAINS ACHIEVED BY LOUIS XIV
Elias Hainzelmann,
“Louis the Great”
(engraving, 1686):
Ruler of the world,
protector of the
Church
“THE NEW MISSIONARIES,
dispatched by order of Louis the Great throughout the Kingdom of
France to return the heretics to the Catholic faith” (1686)
William of
Orange,
Stadholder of
the Netherlands,
who landed in
England with
20,000 troops in
November 1688
After the “Glorious
Revolution,”
King William III
(1689-1702) and
Queen Mary forged
an anti-French
alliance of England,
the Netherlands,
and Austria
The expansion
of Austria,
Russia, and
BrandenburgPrussia around
1700
Louis XIV in battle
armor (1696)
Royal Chapel, Palace of Versailles (completed in 1710)
Ceiling of the Royal Chapel: The Holy Trinity
Hyacinthe Rigaud,
“Louis XIV”
(1701)
OUTCOME OF THE WAR OF SPANISH SUCCESSION:
Austria acquires the Spanish Netherlands (Belgium), and the
Bourbons acquire Naples
Louis & Antoine le Nain, “Peasant Family” (ca. 1640)
Le Nain brothers,
“Blacksmith at his
Forge”
(1640s)
Le Nain brothers, “Smokers in an Interior” (1643)