LOUIS XIV: The Sexiest Sun King?- How He Looked in Real Life | Mortal Faces

when Louis was alive pale skin full hair and trained calves were all the rage the Sun King was considered utterly handsome and he was quite manly but the title of most handsome in France was along held by The comptegish Who was more elegant and afterwards by the Chevalier de Lorraine whose face was a little more soft in his youth if you're new to my channel welcome in this video we're going to transform Louis xiv's portrait from young to old to see how he might have looked in real life as well as talk about what his deal was here on moral places I recreate historic portraits using my Photoshop skills to see how individuals we read about might have looked in real life and I also entangle family trees pop subscribe for more historical Recreations and let me know in the comments if you want to see in upcoming videos what did not change and is as incredibly attractive today as it was back then is a fast and quick mind the French call it espri the English wit and it means a mental sharpness and inventiveness a natural aptitude for using words and ideas in a quick and inventive way to create humor and that's what Louis had after 23 years and four stillbirths in 1638 Louis was born to the French King Louis XII and Anne of Austria he was the eldest of two his younger brother would be the Duke as a result he was considered a Divine gift from God extremely close to his mother she instilled him a sense of divineness and continued the tradition of the absolute monarchy you see his father Louis XII established to the absolute monarchy but there were still a lot of improvements to be made to limit the power of the nobility which this power posed a threat as much as Louis XIV loved art he was himself an artist at the political game in his later years he would beautify the absolute monarchy by rearranging prerogatives for the nobility but let's begin at his early life Louis grew up with his mother who fought for sole control of his Regency and it was a time when the nobility still had a means to raise armies and build fortifications there were remnances of feudalism still left in the political system that needed to be ironed away so his mother groomed Louis to think of himself as a being from God who had complete authority over everyone One Way Anne did this was by establishing an Iron Fist and imprisoning any Aristocrats or Member of Parliament Who challenged her will her main aim was to transfer to her son the absolute Authority in matters of finance and Justice so she thought for him to have authority he needs to be given Authority from her therefore she needs to achieve Authority herself and she did that by the Iron Fist as a young age he loved food theater and ballet and this would be his captivation as he entered adulthood but there was a Darkness to his childhood too you see his mother with the help of her political partner Cardinal mazoran were too radical at times and this led to the outbreak called the frond or the French Civil War which was characterized by the nobility of the stripping of various Powers such as the demotion from a vassal to a mere courteer but it was scary he was just a kid and he was forced to take on the confidence of political Matters from his mother and muscle ran which he barely understood the family home became at times a near prison when Paris had to be abandoned the royal family were driven out of Paris twice and other times they were held under virtual house arrest in the city however at the end the king and his mother eventually won but the Frontiers aged 10 to 15 planted in Louis a hatred of this ancient city and a consequent determination to move out of the capital as soon as possible never to return and we'll see this with Versailles earliness of life he fell in love with Marie Mancini mazoren's niece but his mother disapproved much like her who was a second cousin to her husband Louis XII she wanted her son to marry the daughter of her brother his first cousin princess Maria Therese of Spain oh Louis cried but all his tears did not dissuade her from her goals this marriage would end the war with France and Spain Furthermore with the uneasiness of the Spanish heirs it just might and it did eventually deliver the Spanish Throne to the house of Boerboel which continues to this day when he was 13 in 1651 he reached age of a majority and when mesoren died 10 years later in 1661 he reigned with full control without any Chief ministers he said up to this moment I have been pleased to entrust the government of my Affairs to the late Cardinal it is now time that I govern them myself you will assist me with your councils when I ask for them I request and order you to seal no orders except by my command I order you not to sign anything not even a passport without my command to render account to me personally each day and to favor no one at this point in his 20s the public wanted peace after years of civil and Foreign Wars and Louis was able to capitalize on that France treasury verged on bankruptcy because of inefficient tax systems and corrupt middlemen so he fired and hired new people and created new positions he reduced debt by having a more efficient taxation which resulted in flipping the debt into a surplus in only five years for the next 20 years Louis was strategically taking France's influence globally from the new world to Morocco even Siam and China his influence was growing and by the 1680s when he was around 40 he was at the height of his power but he never forgot the trauma of the front ears and this gave him an idea which turned into his most popular tactic known today as upgrading his father's old hunting lodge into a palace Versailles it took 20 years and in 1682 he moved the core to Versailles which took a few more years until 1687 when people fully recognized Versailles as the seed of power but this was his mark and he made it happen Versailles it was supposed to be like the heavens where the Divine son king lived what was so smart about this move was in order to finalize the removal of the nobility's threatening power he had to focus their attention on something else and their sigh was just that Apartments were built to house those willing to pay court to the king however the pensions and privileges necessary to live in a style appropriate to their rank were only possible by waiting constantly on Louis for this purpose an elaborate Court ritual was created wherein the king became the center of attention and was observed throughout the day by the public with his excellent memory we could then see who attended him at court and who was absent facilitating the subsequent distribution of favors and positions moreover by entertaining impressing and domesticating them with extravagant luxury and other distractions Louis not only cultivated public opinion of himself but he also ensured the aristocracy remained under his scrutiny they were his chickens and he was the keeper basically the entire thing was a big elaborate trap and those who were obsessed with being a peacock got sucked into his world of Barbie Versailles Edition on the outside it looked all gilded and golden but on the inside it was super expensive you had to pay for your own apartment and clothing nothing was given to you for free you had to keep wearing the most updated wardrobe and jewelry all the while trying to maintain your own Estates elsewhere it was a huge financial drain on the Nobles who chose to live in Versailles but it was the only way to gain a lot of favor and keep out of disgrace it was an investment but just like any the cost was sometimes too high for certain people and as a result they got into heavy debt so you're not only left impoverished but also embarrassed because you're constantly surrounded by more successful winners it was very very competitive and if you were more introverted this was not a place for you the higher up you were in the social ladder the greater expectations you had to maintain your position each day at court was strictly codified as Madame Palatine explains in a letter to her Aunt Sophie from 1676 first I went to Versailles where we were kept busy all day we hunted from morning until three in the afternoon Upon returning from the hunt we changed clothes and went up to play remaining there until seven in the evening then we went to the theater which did not finish until half past 10 after the theater we took supper after supper it was time for the ball which went on until three in the morning and only then did we retire to bed but that was the genius of it all it was a work of art that Louis created he perfected this little world on how to keep his potential enemies from having Idle Hands by giving them ambition and reason to sue tune over him their greed was his gain Louis throughout his life kept being intrigued by everything Art Theater science and War he never stopped learning which is a quality that great leaders often possess he was a strong leader and this made France a contender in the global powerhouses his strength would unfortunately filter away though as his descendants got the throne resulting in the French Revolution 90 years later he had about 21 children with around 6 Mistresses and two wives and the only one who would inherit the crown would be his great-grandson Louis XV Louis died in 1715 age 76 and his Reign was the longest of any Sovereign in verifiable history 72 years and that brings us to the end of this video I hope you enjoyed it thank you for watching subscribe for more videos each of your subscriptions is up this channel growed allows me to continue making more content for you let me know in the comments you want to see next I do make a list of all your suggestions and I will see you in the next one

Channel: Mortal Faces

Views: 24,356

Keywords: MortalFaces, Mortal faces, King Louis XIV, King Louis XV, King Louis XVI, Louis XVI, Louis XV, Louis XIV, France, French King, French Kings, history, royalty, french royalty, royal, marie antoinette, real life, in real life, ai animation, portrait animation, deep nostalgia, french revolution, french kings in real life, french monarch, image recreation, portrait recreation, ai recreation, the sun king, people in real life, real life portraits, paintings to life, king louis

Id: TXZkXW5DL54

Length: 10min 55sec (655 seconds)

Published: Sat Aug 19 2023