Louis XIV 1664

This print of Louis XIV was made by Robert Nanteuil, who was celebrated in his time as the pre-eminent portraitist in the medium of engraving. Consider the labor involved. Nanteuil would have started with a prepared copper plate, into which he would painstakingly incise his design using a tool called a burin. The depth and spacing of these lines determined the tonality of the printed image. Note the extraordinary virtuosity, particularly in the rendering of Louis XIV’s flowing hair, lace collar, and burnished armor. Prints like this one were luxury goods, intended for collectors and courtiers. Nanteuil’s career coincided with the centralisation of artistic production under Louis XIV, who established royal academies of painting, sculpture, and architecture. This print provides a small window into the cultural politics of the Sun King’s court. It reminds us that aesthetics are always entangled with social and economic power.