Herrscherbild im Widerstreit

In 1763, in the Place Louis XV (now Place de la Concorde) in Paris, a colossal equestrian statue of the king was unveiled. The ensemble was the work of the architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel and the sculptor Edme Bouchardon.
This study examines the development, artistic originality and political statements of both the square and the statue. The author is particularly concerned with the different views that emerged about how the king should present himself in the square. Different social groups tried to influence the design of the proposed royal image: the ideal established since the time of Louis XIV of a triumphant sovereign was set against the image of a ruler seeking peace. Finally Louis XV succeeded in having himself immortalised as a peaceful ruler. Written and visual sources, many of them previously unknown, are examined to establish how public interest at home and abroad judged the portrayal of the monarch presented in the square. These areas of study are linked by the question of the complex relationship between the sovereignty of the king and public opinion in the age of the Enlightenment.