ORNAMENTAL WOODCARVER Patrick Damiaens: Royal monogram of Louis XIV | Decoration style Versailles | Monogram as a symbol in the ornamentation

Royal monogram of Louis XIV | Decoration style Versailles

The Royal monogram of King Louis XIV, the L in mirror writing interwoven.

A personal monogram of the Sun King

Louis XIV, King of France.

A blog entry from : https://www.patrickdamiaens.info

When you enter the French royal castles, you are confronted with it everywhere. The visitor can't miss it, and that's what was intended: a monogram shows you that you are in a royal residence.

The monogram as an ornament

A monogram is a figure that consists of two or more letters and/or other graphic signs to create a kind of logo or recognizable symbol. Where a logo always looks the same, a monogram can always appear in a different form as long as the letters or signs remain recognisable.

The often crowned monograms of monarchs are widely used. Their monograms were depicted on stamps, coins, linen, utensils and knights' orders. Known are the monograms of the English kings who adorn many lampposts in London and the post boxes throughout Great Britain.

In the case of kings it is customary to include an R for REX or REGINA for queens (Latin: king or queen) in the monogram.

The I in a royal monogram stands for Imperator of Imperatrix (Latin: emperor or empress), For a noble monogram the D for Dux (Latin: duke), and the C for Comes (Latin: count).

Versailles

Everywhere the decor of Versailles combines the royal emblems: the double L, the royal crown, the sceptre and the hand of justice.

This monogram can be found on the panelling and doors of the king's apartments as well as on gates and forged fencing.

The monogram consists of the first letter of a name, doubled and interwoven in a single character, as here the letter L of Louis (Louis). It is assumed that the monogram is a royal signature.

I haven't published an English-language blog entries in a while. It just costs me too much money to have my dutch blogs translated into english. This free info blog is pure fun for me but if it costs me a lot of money the enthusiasm from my part is far away.
But in the meantime I have found a free site online that does pretty good translations. So here is my first translation of this blog about The Royal monogram of Louis XIV. Hopefully the traduction will be easy to read.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator

Here are some examples of the double L in the decoration.

The pictures are mainly taken

in the castles of Versailles and Fontainebleau.

Versailles, Salon of War |
Monogram of the Sun King

Monogram of the Sun King |
Louis XIV, The Sun King

Versailles, Vestibule of the chapel on the 1st floor |
Monogram of the Sun King

Carved paneling in the Palace of Versailles |

Gilded ornaments | Versailles ornamentation

In the gardens of Versailles |
Monogram Louis XIV carved on a door, a supraporte ornament

Versailles | Monogram Louis XIV |
Monogram of the Sun King

A carved overdoor ornament | Castle of Versailles
Monogram of Louis XIV

Versailles | The symbol of Louis XIV immortalized in a sculpture

Palace of Versailles |
Monogram of the Sun King

Fontainebleau Castle |

Royal monogram of Louis XIV in palm leaf form

Part of the balustrade in the Royal Chapel

| Fontainebleau Castle | Monogram of the Sun King

Forged fence with the symbol of Louis XIV |
Monogram of the Sun King

Le Grand Trianon | Monogram as a symbol in the ornamentation |
The Sun King

The sun as an emblem.

Another typical ornament of Louis the XIV that is often associated in ornamental compositions and in the decoration of his castles is the emblem of the sun. The God Apollo is surrounded by sunbeams. The sun was associated with Apollo, god of peace and art, and the sun was also the heavenly body that gave life to all things, everything arranged as it rose and set.

Like Apollo, the warrior-king Louis XIV brought peace, was a patron of the arts and spent his generosity. The regularity of his working habits and his ritual increases and retirements (scaffolding and couchee) were another point of solar comparison.

In Versailles, decorations combine images and attributes of Apollo (laurel, winch, tripod) with the portraits and emblems of the king (the solar motif, the sceptre and the hand of justice that embellish this door).

The young Louis XIV loved to dance and play in different court performances. Once he had to play the role of the sun in the Ballet de la Nuit. After this performance, he decided to choose the sun as his symbol. To this day he is known as the Sun King (Le Roi Soleil).