How does King Louis XIV's History Reflect Through Buildings, Arches, Research Paper

How does King Louis XIV's History Reflect Through Buildings, Arches, and Statues in Paris - Research Paper Example The changes introduced by King Louis XIV in building were to replace the current styles in architecture: ornate rococo dominated in the design of market buildings, hospitals and hotels. He adopted the modern floor plans, and a well planned logic was behind all those changes. The exteriors of buildings were composed of large, regularly shaped blocks, and the walls of buildings were plain, with no architectural extravagancies. The Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture was also established under his rule, and the king took measures to promote the work of art and architecture (Blunt). The Louvre and the palace of Versailles were the projects that were supervised by the king himself. They were considered to be the most glamorous building, and even today the architecture of Paris is largely defined by the period of the Sun King’s rule. The king brought the concept of absolute monarchy in the country, which also reflected in his way of life. In contrast with the aristocratic mindse t, he was fond of making portraits and statues of his own and had a great taste for making arches in Paris. The King reconstructed the Louvre in 1663 and created the Apollo Temples, the name of which resonated with the Louis XVI’s nickname: Appollo means ‘the god of sun,’ and hence his alias ‘the Sun King’ (Blunt). In spite of all the money that was spent on wars and winning those wars, the art under the rule of Louis flourished like it had never flourished before. He sponsored many great architects, artists and sculptures and promoted the French Classicism. Classicism was the style in architecture in which more focus was put on logic and the order of patterns. It focused more on the right use of colors than on adorning the building with painting (Shennan). The king... The research paper attempts to describe and discuss the history of the King of France King Louis XIV and explores his huge impact and interest in buildings, arches, and statues in Paris. This paper mentiones Paris as an architectural pearl due to the styles of buildings and statues that were built according to the old styles, such as French Baroque that is a style in architecture which was evolved under the reign of Louis XIV and then spread out into all the European countries. Classicism that was also analyzed in the paper has dominated in the design of buildings in Paris and was the preferred style in the seventeenth century. The king’s approach to architecture reflected his political clout. The research paper describes how the king recognized the importance of the city as it represented the power of the king. Artistic productivity was one of the defining characteristics of Louis XIV’s reign as he led the country to its cultural greatness through the patronage of the architectural development. Before his reign, Rome was considered as the artistic capital of Europe, but closer to the end of his rule, Paris had became the European centre of art. When concluding the efforts of King Louis, it should be mentioned that he had to demonstrate his power to other countries, which motivated to develop interest in fostering the creation of buildings that are still considered to be the greatest achievement of his reign. These glamorous buildings, arches and statues will remain the center of attraction in Paris for many centuries to come.