query: who was louis xvi?

title: Louis XVI of France

text: Louis XVI Had Had an Atom of Firmness" by André Maurois, which tell very different stories but both imagine Louis surviving and still reigning in the early 19th century. Louis appears in the children's book "Ben and Me" by Robert Lawson but does not appear in the 1953 animated short film based on the same book. Louis's formal style before the revolution was ""Louis XVI, par la grâce de Dieu, roi de France et de Navarre"", or "Louis XVI, by the Grace of God, King of France and of Navarre". Louis XVI of France Louis XVI (; 23 August 1754

title: Louis XVI furniture

text: Louis XVI furniture Louis XVI furniture is characterized by elegance and neoclassicism, a return to ancient Greek and Roman models. Much of it was designed and made for Queen Marie Antoinette for the new apartments she created in the Palace of Versailles, Palace of Fontainebleau, the Tuileries Palace, and other royal residences. The finest craftsmen of the time, including Jean-Henri Riesener, Georges Jacob, Martin Carlin, and Jean-François Leleu, were engaged to design and make her furniture. With the death of Louis XV on May 10, 1774, his grandson Louis XVI became King of France at age twenty. The new king

title: Louis XVI of France

text: Louis XVI of France Louis XVI (; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793), born Louis-Auguste, was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as Citizen Louis Capet during the four months before he was guillotined. In 1765, at the death of his father, Louis, son and heir apparent of Louis XV, Louis-Auguste became the new Dauphin of France. Upon his grandfather's death on 10 May 1774, he assumed the title "King of France and Navarre", which he used until 4 September 1791, when he received the title

title: Louis XVI of France

text: the National Convention (self-instituted as a tribunal for the occasion), found guilty of high treason, and executed by guillotine on 21 January 1793, as a desacralized French citizen under the name of "Citizen Louis Capet," in reference to Hugh Capet, the founder of the Capetian dynasty – which the revolutionaries interpreted as Louis's family name. Louis XVI was the only King of France ever to be executed, and his death brought an end to more than a thousand years of continuous French monarchy. Both of his sons died in childhood, before the Bourbon Restoration; his only child to reach adulthood,

title: Louis XVI of France

text: live action film. In "Start the Revolution Without Me", Louis XVI is portrayed by Hugh Griffith as a laughable cuckold. Mel Brooks played a comic version of Louis XVI in "The History of the World Part 1", portraying him as a libertine who has such distaste for the peasantry he uses them as targets in skeet shooting. In the 1996 film "Ridicule"; Urbain Cancelier plays Louis. Louis XVI has been the subject of novels as well, including two of the alternate histories anthologized in "If It Had Happened Otherwise" (1931): "If Drouet's Cart Had Stuck" by Hilaire Belloc and "If

title: Louis XVI style

text: 1786-85 to write the "Symphonies Parisienees". Louis XVI style Louis XVI style, also called Louis Seize, is a style of architecture, furniture, decoration and art which developed in France during the 19-year reign of Louis XVI (1774–1793), just before the French Revolution. It saw the final phase of the baroque style as well as the birth of French neoclassicism. The style was a reaction against the elaborate ornament of the preceding baroque period. It was inspired in part by the discoveries of ancient Roman paintings, sculpture and architecture in Herculaneum and Pompeii. Its features included the straight column, the simplicity

title: Trial of Louis XVI

text: Trial of Louis XVI The trial of Louis XVI was a key event of the French Revolution. It involved the trial of the former French king Louis XVI before the National Convention and led to his execution. The trial began on 3 December. On 4 December the Convention's president Bertrand Barère presented it with the indictment (drafted by Jean-Baptiste Robert Lindet) and decreed the interrogation of Louis XVI. Louis made his entrance into the Convention chamber then: "Louis", said Barère de Vieuzac, "the nation accuses you, the National Assembly decreed on 3 December that you would be judged by it;

title: Louis XVI style

text: Louis XVI style Louis XVI style, also called Louis Seize, is a style of architecture, furniture, decoration and art which developed in France during the 19-year reign of Louis XVI (1774–1793), just before the French Revolution. It saw the final phase of the baroque style as well as the birth of French neoclassicism. The style was a reaction against the elaborate ornament of the preceding baroque period. It was inspired in part by the discoveries of ancient Roman paintings, sculpture and architecture in Herculaneum and Pompeii. Its features included the straight column, the simplicity of the post-and-lintel, the architrave of

title: Louis XVI style

text: The style also was frequently used in friezes and cameos, in medallions and in white on blue Wedgewood porcelain. In the laster years of the Louis XVI style, the decorative panels were divided into often geometric divisions, either circles or octagons, Louis XVI style furniture, particularly the furniture made for the royal palaces, is among the most finely-crafted and valuable ever produced in France. Much of it was produced at the "Garde-Meuble du Roi", the royal furniture worship, directed by Francois II Foliot (1748-1808). produced at the Among the notable craftsmen of the period were Georges Jacob, who made a

title: Louis XVI furniture

text: and given a classical look under Louis XVI. Marie Antoinette had a version made for the bath of her apartments in Versailles. Louis XVI furniture Louis XVI furniture is characterized by elegance and neoclassicism, a return to ancient Greek and Roman models. Much of it was designed and made for Queen Marie Antoinette for the new apartments she created in the Palace of Versailles, Palace of Fontainebleau, the Tuileries Palace, and other royal residences. The finest craftsmen of the time, including Jean-Henri Riesener, Georges Jacob, Martin Carlin, and Jean-François Leleu, were engaged to design and make her furniture. With the

title: Louis XVI of France

text: to the nearby Madeleine cemetery, located "rue d'Anjou", where those guillotined at the "Place de la Révolution" were buried in mass graves. Before his burial, a short religious service was held in the Madeleine church (destroyed in 1799) by two priests who had sworn allegiance to the Civil Constitution of the Clergy. Afterwards, Louis XVI, his severed head placed between his feet, was buried in an unmarked grave, with quicklime spread over his body. The Madeleine cemetery was closed in 1794. In 1815 Louis XVIII had the remains of his brother Louis XVI and of his sister-in-law Marie-Antoinette transferred and

title: Louis XVI of France

text: leaving a friend like Malesherbes behind. The last thing Louis said to him was that he needed to control his tears because all eyes would be upon him. On Monday, 21 January 1793, Louis XVI was beheaded by guillotine on the "Place de la Révolution". As Louis XVI mounted the scaffold, he appeared dignified and resigned. He delivered a short speech in which he pardoned "...those who are the cause of my death... ". He then declared himself innocent of the crimes of which he was accused, praying that his blood would not fall back on France. Many accounts suggest

title: Trial of Louis XVI

text: on 6 December, it decided that you would be brought to the dock. We shall read you the act giving the offenses with which you are charged...". Louis was then read the charges by the Convention's secretary, Jean-Baptiste Mailhe: "Louis, the French Nation accuses you of having committed a multitude of crimes to establish your tyranny, in destroying her freedom." Louis XVI heard the 33 charges sitting in the armchair in which he had accepted the Constitution. After the secretary had read him the accusation act, Bertrand Barère de Vieuzac repeated each charge and questioned Louis XVI. Louis XVI sought

title: Louis XVI of France

text: who knew of the occurrence. Marie Antoinette suffered a second miscarriage on the night of 2–3 November 1783. Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were the parents of four live-born children: In addition to his biological children, Louis XVI also adopted four children: "Armand" Francois-Michel Gagné (c. 1771-1792), a poor orphan adopted in 1776; Jean Amilcar (c. 1781-1793), a Senegalese slave boy given to the queen as a present by Chevalier de Boufflers in 1787, but whom she instead had freed, baptized, adopted and placed in a pension; Ernestine Lambriquet (1778-1813), daughter of two servants at the palace, who was raised

title: Execution of Louis XVI

text: escaped destruction on politico-ideological grounds during the violently anti-clerical period at the beginning of the 20th century. Paul and Pierrette Girault de Coursac have written a number of works on Louis XVI, including: Execution of Louis XVI The execution of Louis XVI, by means of the guillotine, a major event of the French Revolution, took place on 21 January 1793 at the "Place de la Révolution" ("Revolution Square", formerly "Place Louis XV", and renamed "Place de la Concorde" in 1795) in Paris. The National Convention had convicted the king (17 January 1793) in a near-unanimous vote (while no one voted

title: Execution of Louis XVI

text: January 1815 Louis XVI and his wife's remains were re-buried in the Basilica of Saint-Denis where in 1816 his brother, King Louis XVIII, had a funerary monument erected by Edme Gaulle. The area where Louis XVI and later (16 October 1793) Marie Antoinette were buried, in the churchyard of St. Mary Magdaleine's, is today the "Square Louis XVI" greenspace, containing the classically self-effacing Expiatory Chapel completed in 1826 during the reign of Louis's youngest brother Charles X. The crypt altar stands above the exact spot where the remains of the Royal couple were originally laid to rest. The chapel narrowly

title: Execution of Louis XVI

text: Execution of Louis XVI The execution of Louis XVI, by means of the guillotine, a major event of the French Revolution, took place on 21 January 1793 at the "Place de la Révolution" ("Revolution Square", formerly "Place Louis XV", and renamed "Place de la Concorde" in 1795) in Paris. The National Convention had convicted the king (17 January 1793) in a near-unanimous vote (while no one voted "not guilty", several deputies abstained) and condemned him to death by a simple majority. Louis XVI awoke at 5 o'clock and after dressing with the aid of his valet Jean-Baptiste Cléry, went to

title: Louis XVI of France

text: convicted of high treason. He left behind (on his bed) a 16-page written manifesto, "Déclaration du roi, adressée à tous les François, à sa sortie de Paris", traditionally known as the "Testament politique de Louis XVI" ("Political Testament of Louis XVI"), explaining his rejection of the constitutional system as illegitimate; it was printed in the newspapers. However, his indecision, many delays, and misunderstanding of France were responsible for the failure of the escape. Within 24 hours, the royal family was arrested at Varennes-en-Argonne shortly after Jean-Baptiste Drouet, who recognised the king from his profile on a 50 livres "assignat" (paper

title: Louis XVI of France

text: last-ditch attempt to get new monetary reforms approved, Louis XVI convoked the Estates-General on 8 August 1788, setting the date of their opening on 1 May 1789. With the convocation of the Estates-General, as in many other instances during his reign, Louis XVI placed his reputation and public image in the hands of those who were perhaps not as sensitive to the desires of the French population as he was. Because it had been so long since the Estates-General had been convened, there was some debate as to which procedures should be followed. Ultimately, the "Parlement de Paris" agreed that

title: Trial of Louis XVI

text: monarchists. There were 721 voters in total. 34 voted for death with attached conditions (23 of whom invoked the Mailhe amendment), 2 voted for life imprisonment in irons, 319 voted for imprisonment until the end of the war (to be followed by banishment). 361 voted for death without conditions, just carrying the vote by a marginal majority. Louis was to be put to death. Louis was guillotined on 21 January 1793 in the Place de la Révolution (renamed Place de la Concorde in 1795). Trial of Louis XVI The trial of Louis XVI was a key event of the French

title: Louis XVI style

text: country houses in England, as well as the French architect Claude-Nicolas Ledoux (1736-1806). Palladio's ideas were the inspiration for the Château de Louveciennes, and its neoclassical music pavilion (1770–71) built by Claude Nicolas Ledoux for the mistress of Louis XV, Madame du Barry. The pavilion is cubic in form, with a facade of four pilasters supporting the architrave and the pilaster of the terrace. It became the model for similar houses under Louis XVI. Notable monuments of Louis XVI civil architecture include the Hotel de la Monnaie in Paris (1771–76) by Jacques Denis Antoine, as well as the Palais de

title: Louis XVI style

text: tromp l'oeil over doors. Other popular motifs included garlands of oak leaves or olive leaves; interlaced flowers, ribbons or vines; crowns of roses, flaming torches, horns of plenty, and particularly vases from which emerged flowers or vines. In the early part of the reign of Louis XVI, interior decoration was designed to overwhelm the viewer with its scale, majesty and opulence. Grand halls served multiple purposes, for theater entertainments, balls, or banquets. An example of the early Louis XVI style is the dining room of the Chateau de Maisons, rebuilt between 1777-1782 by François-Joseph Bélanger for the Comte d'Artois, the

title: Louis XVI of France

text: in the Second Anglo-Mysore War against British rule in India, in 1782–1783, fighting the British fleet along the coasts of India and Ceylon. France also intervened in Cochinchina following Mgr Pigneau de Béhaine's intervention to obtain military aid. A France-Cochinchina alliance was signed through the Treaty of Versailles of 1787, between Louis XVI and Prince Nguyễn Ánh. Louis XVI also encouraged major voyages of exploration. In 1785, he appointed La Pérouse to lead a sailing expedition around the world. There is a lack of scholarship on the subject of Louis XVI's time as a constitutional monarch, though it was a

title: Louis XVI style

text: in the baroque style. The end of the reign of Louis XV also brought to prominence the first artist to paint in the neoclassical style, Joseph Marie Vien, who painted scenes of Rome inspired by the discoveries at Herculaneum and Pompeii. Vien became the last holder of the title of first painter of the King, which he held from 1789 to 1791. Jean Peyron was another neoclassicist in the early Louis XVI reign. Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun was noted for her portraits of the royal family and nobility, including of Marie Antoinette and her children. The most prominent neoclassicist by

title: Louis XVI of France

text: Flight to Varennes in 1791. When Louis XVI acceded to the throne in 1774, he was nineteen years old. He had an enormous responsibility, as the government was deeply in debt, and resentment of "despotic" monarchy was on the rise. He himself felt woefully unqualified to resolve the situation. As king, Louis XVI focused primarily on religious freedom and foreign policy. While none doubted his intellectual ability to rule France, it was quite clear that, although raised as the Dauphin since 1765, he lacked firmness and decisiveness. His desire to be loved by his people is evident in the prefaces

title: Louis XVI of France

text: of the monarchy and the establishment of a republic became an ever-increasing possibility. Despite his lack of popular approbation, Louis XVI did abolish the death penalty for deserters, as well as the labor tax, which had compelled the French lower classes to spend two weeks out of the year working on buildings and roads. In a context of civil and international war, Louis XVI was suspended and arrested at the time of the Insurrection of 10 August 1792; one month later, the absolute monarchy was abolished; the First French Republic was proclaimed on 21 September 1792. He was tried by

title: Execution of Louis XVI

text: present at the execution of Louis XVI, recalled vividly: In "Le nouveau Paris", Mercier describes the execution of Louis XVI in these words: A popular but apocryphal legend associated with the execution states that as soon as the guillotine fell, an anonymous Freemason leaped on the scaffolding, plunged his hand into the blood, splashed drips of it onto the crown, and shouted, ""Jacques de Molay, tu es vengé!"" (usually translated as, "Jacques de Molay, thou art avenged"). De Molay (died 1314), the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, had reportedly cursed Louis' ancestor Philip the Fair, after the latter

title: Louis XVI furniture

text: British designer Robert Adam, particularly in the design of chairs, and in the use of mahogany wood, which was quickly adapted in France. A majority of the top "ébénistes" were German or of German descent, which gave them a common language with Marie-Antoinette. The most prominent figures under Louis XVI were Jean Henri Riesener, who received the title of "ébéniste ordinaire" of the royal household in 1774. His main rival was Jean-François Leleu, one of the few who was not German. Other "ébénistes", including Martin Carlin and Adam Weisweiler, worked primarily for furniture merchants who supplied the wealthy Parisian upper

title: Louis XVI of France

text: he headed a secret council of advisers to Louis XVI, which tried to preserve the monarchy; these schemes proved unsuccessful, and were exposed later when the armoire de fer was discovered. Regarding the financial difficulties facing France, the Assembly created the Comité des Finances, and while Louis XVI attempted to declare his concern and interest in remedying the economic situations, inclusively offering to melt crown silver as a dramatic measure, it appeared to the public that the king did not understand that such statements no longer held the same meaning as they did before and that doing such a thing

title: Louis XVI furniture

text: furniture of the period was made by craftsmen who belonged to guilds or corporations which strictly regulated the work of their members, as well as the access to the profession. The reform-minded prime minister of Louis XVI, Turgot, attempted to suppress the power of the corporations in 1776, but, meeting fierce resistance from the artisans, he withdrew his reforms, and then, a few months later, was forced to resign himself. The work of making furniture was strictly divided into several crafts: In addition to the craftsmen, there were the "marchands-merciers", the merchants who met with clients, took the orders and

title: Louis XVI furniture

text: a lacy decorative trim fence around the top. The "Secretaire an armoire" was a vertical piece of furniture which resembled an armoire. The writing surface was pulled down, and the shelves and drawers inside were reveaed. The "Secretaire en cabinet" also had a writing surface that pulled down, with shelves on either side and drawers beneath. Clocks and other decorative objects could be placed on the marge shelf on top. The designers who were most celebrated for desks included, besides Jean-Henri Riesener, Jean-Francois Leleu; Claude-Charles Saunier, and particularly David Roentgen, who made desks not only for Louis XVI, but also

title: Louis XVI of France

text: informed of the extent of the debt, they were shocked into rejecting the plan. After this, Louis XVI tried, along with his new "Controller-General des finances", Étienne-Charles de Loménie de Brienne, to force the "Parlement de Paris" to register the new laws and fiscal reforms. Upon the denial of the members of the "Parlement", Louis XVI tried to use his absolute power to subjugate them by every means: enforcing in many occasions the registration of his reforms (6 August 1787, 19 November 1787, and 8 May 1788), exiling all "Parlement" magistrates to Troyes as a punishment on 15 August 1787,

title: Louis XVI of France

text: the happiness of the many. Little by little, we will find reasons for sacrificing the many for the happiness of the many, and we will think it was a bargain." There were two events that led up to the trial for Louis XVI. First, after the Battle of Valmy on 22 September 1792, General Dumouriez negotiated with the Prussians who evacuated France. Louis could no longer be considered a hostage or as leverage in negotiations with the invading forces. Second, in November 1792, the "armoire de fer" (iron chest) incident took place at the Tuileries Palace, when the existence, in

title: Louis XVI of France

text: the masses to revolt. From 1776, Louis XVI actively supported the North American colonists, who were seeking their independence from Great Britain, which was realised in the 1783 Treaty of Paris. The ensuing debt and financial crisis contributed to the unpopularity of the "Ancien Régime". This led to the convening of the Estates-General of 1789. Discontent among the members of France's middle and lower classes resulted in strengthened opposition to the French aristocracy and to the absolute monarchy, of which Louis and his wife, Queen Marie Antoinette, were viewed as representatives. Increasing tensions and violence marked by events such as

title: Execution of Louis XVI

text: had sentenced him to burn at the stake based on false confessions. The story spread widely and the phrase remains in use today to indicate the triumph of reason and logic over "religious superstition". The body of Louis XVI was immediately transported to the old Church of the Madeleine (demolished in 1799), since the legislation in force forbade burial of his remains beside those of his father, the Dauphin Louis de France, at Sens. Two curates who had sworn fealty to the Revolution held a short memorial service at the church. One of them, Damoureau, stated in evidence: On 21

title: Louis XVI style

text: the manufacture of silk products. The best quality silk was made in Lyon, and was sold to Catherine the Great of Russia, Frederick the Great of Prussia, and other royal clients. Lampas silk coverings with motifs of arabesques and medallions covered the walls of the billiards room of Marie-Antoinette in 1779, and thereafter became fashionable in Paris residences. The most famous painter of the later French baroque was François Boucher, who perfectly captured the spirit and style of the period. After his death in 1770, shortly before the beginning of the reign of Louis XVI, he had no real successor

title: Louis XVI style

text: and Greeks. In 1754 The French engraver, painter and art critic Charles-Nicolas Cochin denounced the curves and undulations of the predominant rocaille style: "Don't torture without reason those things which could be straight, and come back to the good sense which is the beginning of good taste." Louis XVI himself showed little enthusiasm for art or architecture. He left the management of these to Charles-Claude Flahaut de la Billaderie, the Count of Angiviller, who was made Director General of Buildings, Gardens, Arts, Academies and Royal Manufactories. Angeviller, for financial reasons, postponed a grand enlargement of the Palace of Versailles, but

title: Louis XVI style

text: brother of Louis XVI. This dining room, inspired by grand style of Louis XIV and Louis XV. It features columns of the colossal order, inches, frontons, consoles, sculpture in relief, and a gigantic fireplace. Later in the reign, the tendency shifed to smaller, more intimate and comfortable salons, studies, dining rooms and boudoirs, as the Cabinet Doré of Marie Antoinette at the Palace of Versailles (1783) and the boudoir of Marie Antoinette at Fontainebleau, in the Pompeiian style (1785). The Pompeiian style featured mythical animals, such as sphinxes and griffons, horns of plenty, and vases of flowers mounted on tripods.

title: Louis XVI style

text: upon symmetry and the straight line. Gabriel created the ensemble of classical buildings around the Place de la Concorde while Soufflot designed the Panthéon (1758–90) on the Roman model. An influential building from the late Louis XV period was the Petit Trianon at Versailles (1762-1764), by Jacques Ange Gabriel, built for the mistress of the King, Madame Pompadour. Its cubic form, symmetric facade and Corinthian peristyle, similar to the villas of Palladio, made it model for the following Louis XVI style. Another notable influence on the style was the architecture of the Renaissance architect Palladio, which influenced the building of

title: Louis XVI furniture

text: under the console often had a pedestal, where pieces of fine porcelain could be displayed. Some smaller consoles had only a single foot, decorated with carved garlands of flowers. Unlike the highly-ornamented consoles of Louis XV furniture, with twisting rocaille sculpture, Louis XVI consoles, particularly in the late years, had an elegant simplicity. They included small varieties, such as the "Console-Desserte", half-moon shaped, with a white marble and a simple wooden platform below supporting the legs, it was made of oak and mahogany, with slender tapering straight legs, with small drawers, discreet gilded bronze ornament, and a delicate ring of

title: Louis XVI style

text: the midst of the Revolution, Louis XVI himself. Louis-Simon Boizot was prominent for making busts of the nobility, including Marie Antoinette, but also for modeling figures for the Sevres porcelain factory, which became better known than his more formal sculpture. Examples include his "The Toilet of Madame", made of hard-paste porcelain, mounted on a plaque of marble and gilded bronze. Musical tastes at court were guided by Marie Antoinette. The Queen played the harp and sang, and had been, in Vienna, a student of Christoph Willibald Gluck. Her favorite composers were Gluck and Grétry, and she regularly attended concerts at

title: Louis XVI of France

text: of much future bitterness among French monarchists; he would himself be guillotined on the same scaffold, "Place de la Révolution", before the end of the same year, on 6 November 1793. The next day, a motion to grant Louis XVI reprieve from the death sentence was voted down: 310 of the deputies requested mercy, but 380 voted for the immediate execution of the death penalty. This decision would be final. Malesherbes wanted to break the news to Louis and bitterly lamented the verdict, but Louis told him he would see him again in a happier life and he would regret

title: Louis XVI furniture

text: and "Vitrines", or cabinets with glass doors, where precious objects could be displayed. These had very ornate marquetry patterns on the doors in the earlier years of the reign, but became much simpler, with mahogany and oak trimmed with gilded bronze, in the later years. The basic forms of writing table, the drop-front desk and cylinder desk had all appeared in the furniture of Louis XV, but their appearance became more classical, geometric and sober under Louis XVI, and the quality marquetry inlays became much finer. The writing tables varied in size, but had leather tops, tapering legs, and usually

title: Louis XVI style

text: of Paris, into a grand shopping mall. In 1781 the Duc de Chartres, needing money, commissioned architect Victor Louis to create an arcade of shops, cafes and clubs on the ground floor. In 1788 he added a covered cirque in the center, a covered promenade and space for concerts and entertainments, with a trellis roof supported by seventy-two ionic columns. The most characteristic building of the late Louis XVI residential style is the Hôtel de Salm in Paris (Now the Palais de la Légion d'Honneur, built by Pierre Rousseau in 1751-83. The facade is distinguished by its simplicity and purity,

title: Louis XVI of France

text: population numbered around 100,000 persons. However, this intervention was a disaster for the image of the Queen, who was named ""l'Autrichienne"" (a pun in French meaning "Austrian", but the "chienne" suffix can mean "bitch") on account of it. Louis XVI hoped to use the American Revolutionary War as an opportunity to expel the British from India. In 1782, he sealed an alliance with the Peshwa Madhu Rao Narayan. As a consequence, Bussy moved his troops to the Isle de France (now Mauritius) and later contributed to the French effort in India in 1783. Suffren became the ally of Hyder Ali

title: Louis XVI of France

text: of many of his edicts that would often explain the nature and good intention of his actions as benefiting the people, such as reinstating the "parlements". When questioned about his decision, he said, "It may be considered politically unwise, but it seems to me to be the general wish and I want to be loved." In spite of his indecisiveness, Louis XVI was determined to be a good king, stating that he "must always consult public opinion; it is never wrong." He, therefore, appointed an experienced advisor, Jean-Frédéric Phélypeaux, "Comte de Maurepas" who, until his death in 1781, would take

title: Louis XVI of France

text: Duchess of Angoulême, survived the French Revolution, and she lobbied in Rome energetically for the canonization of her father as a saint of the Catholic Church. Despite his signing of the "Civil Constitution of the Clergy", Louis had been described as a martyr by Pope Pius VI in 1793. In 1820, however, a memorandum of the Congregation of Rites in Rome, declaring the impossibility of proving that Louis had been executed for religious rather than political reasons, put an end to hopes of canonization. King Louis XVI has been portrayed in numerous films. In "Captain of the Guard" (1930), he

title: Louis XVI of France

text: foreign assistance. Like his mother and father, he thought that the Austrians were treacherous and the Prussians were overly ambitious. As tensions in Paris rose and he was pressured to accept measures from the Assembly against his will, Louis XVI and the queen plotted to secretly escape from France. Beyond escape, they hoped to raise an "armed congress" with the help of the "émigrés", as well as assistance from other nations with which they could return and, in essence, recapture France. This degree of planning reveals Louis' political determination, but it was for this determined plot that he was eventually

title: Louis XVI of France

text: was often done through his secretly nominated regent, the Cardinal Loménie de Brienne. On the other hand, Louis was alienated from the new democratic government both by its negative reaction to the traditional role of the monarch and in its treatment of him and his family. He was particularly irked by being kept essentially as a prisoner in the Tuileries, and by the refusal of the new regime to allow him to have confessors and priests of his choice rather than 'constitutional priests' pledged to the state and not the Roman Catholic Church. On 21 June 1791, Louis XVI attempted

title: Execution of Louis XVI

text: drums, and a crowd carrying pikes and bayonets. After initially refusing to have his hands tied, Louis XVI relented when the executioner proposed to use his handkerchief instead of rope. After this his hair was cut and the collar of his shirt was removed. After being led upon the scaffold, Louis tried to give a speech but the noise of the drums made this difficult to understand. He was then laid on the bench, the collar closed over his neck and then the blade came down. According to reports the blade did not sever his neck but cut through the

title: Louis XVI of France

text: imposed reforms. Third, although the King enjoyed as much absolute power as his predecessors, he lacked the personal authority crucial for absolutism to function properly. Having become unpopular to both the commoners and the aristocracy, Louis XVI was, therefore, able to impose his decisions and reforms only for very short periods of time, ranging from 2 to 4 months, before revoking them. As authority drifted from him and reforms were becoming necessary, there were increasingly loud calls for him to convoke the Estates-General, which had not met since 1614, at the beginning of the reign of Louis XIII. As a

title: Louis XVI furniture

text: of the chair back, for playing cards. A set of four of these chairs was made by Jean-Baptiste-Claude Sené for Madame Elizabeth, sister of Marie-Antoinette, and was delivered in 1789, the year of the beginning of the French Revolution. Another original type that appeared under Louis XVI was the "Fauteul de Bureau", or office chair. A set was made by Henri Jacob, brother of Georges Jacob, in about 1785, made of carved walnut, cane and lester. The seat was mounted on a circular platform, and could turn around, the first recorded swivel chair. In 1790 Henri Jacob produced a series

title: Louis XVI furniture

text: woods found in France. Cherry wood and walnut were often used, especially in regional furniture. Beech was commonly used for chairs, since it was sold, easily sculpted, and could be easily gilded and painted. Oak was rarely used, because it was hard and difficult to carve. It was usually reserved for frames and mountings. The decorative woods for "marquetry" were termed "Bois des Indes" and usually came from South America or the West Indies. They were often named by their color rather than botanical name; "bois de rose", "bois de violette", and "bois d,amaranthe". The late Louis XVI period, and

title: Louis XVI furniture

text: room was made by Jean Henri Riesener and included a commode, a corner table and a secretary inlaid with cedar wood, amarante, and medallions of gilded bronze. It also included a sofa with a gilded frame placed in a niche surrounded by mirrors, and facing the window. This room, with its combination of comfort, intimacy and luxury, is among the most classic examples of Louis XVI style. It has been restored to its original appearance, while some of the original furniture is now in the Wallace Collection in London. Another notable influence to the style was the work of the

title: Louis XVI style

text: columns supporting a continuous entablement. The plan was also classical; the long nave with a vaulted ceiling was replaced by a Greek cross, with the dome in the center. Soufflot employed novel engineering techniques to support the dome; a system of contreforts and arches, and the use of iron bars to support the stone structure. The building was begun in 1764 but not completed until 1790, after the Revolution. Another important church completed in the Louis XVI period was Saint-Philippe-du-Roule (1768-1784) by Jean-François-Thérèse Chalgrin. It was one of the last churches finished before the Revolution. The church is inspired by

title: Louis XVI furniture

text: commode "a vantaux", where the drawers or shelves nside the cabinet were concealed with two doors. The "ébéniste" Jean-François Leleu went even further and designed a commode with no legs, which was simply placed on a wooden base, the version that became common in the 19th century. Later commodes often took a half-moon form, and had less decoration and ornament; their beauty came from the quality of the mahogany employed for the facing. Some other specialized cabinets appeared under Louis XVI, thanks to the improved technology for making larger panes of glass. These included "bibliotheques" or bookcases with glass doors,

title: Louis XVI furniture

text: frieze in a geometric pattern around the top. Another popular form late in the period was a chest decorated with plaques of Sevres porcelain, usually with floral patterns. These were a specialty of the designer Martin Carlin. A more exotic material appeared in a cabinet for medals made for Louis XVI in 1788. The drawers were decorated with gilding and with real feathers and insect wings waxed and applied to the surface.. The marquetry decoration of commodes usually featured trophies or designs representing of love or music, flowers, and sometimes, in the passion for exotic themes, Chinese or Japanese objects.

title: Louis XVI style

text: been used since in the 16th century for interior decoration, followed by wood block prints. French aristocrats often used tapestries in the major rooms, but in the antechambers and lesser rooms they often used painted or printed of painted paper designs imported from China, India, and especially England. In 1765, the French government placed a heavy tax on imported wallpaper, stimulating French production. During the reign of Louis XVI, the largest French enterprise for making wallpaper was created Jean-Baptiste Réveillon, In 1784 they received the title of Royal Manufactory, opened a large depot near the Tuilieries Palace, and hired a

title: Louis XVI style

text: forms. The Louis XVI style of decoration marked the triumph of neo-classicism, which had been underway in Europe since 1770. It reflected the murals and designs found in the early archeological excavations in Herculaneum and Pompei, and the travels of groups of artists to Greece and Asia Minor. The "Taste Pompeiian" was followed by "the taste Entruscan". Motifs in interior decoration included arabesques and grotesques on the Pompeiian model. Bas-reliefs in the Greek and Roman style were popular, often in the form of rectangual friezes in bronze on furniture, or stucco, marble, molded stucco, baked earth, or simply painted in

title: Louis XVI and the Legislative Assembly

text: to a small number. Many who had sat in the National Constituent Assembly and many more who had sat in the Legislative Assembly were returned. The Convention met on 20 September and became the new "de facto" government of France. Louis XVI and the Legislative Assembly The French Revolution was a period in the history of France covering the years 1789 to 1799, in which republicans overthrew the Bourbon monarchy and the Roman Catholic Church in France perforce underwent radical restructuring. This article covers the one-year period from 1 October 1791 to September 1792, during which France was governed by

title: Louis XVI furniture

text: gilded bronze around the top. Other small consoles featured discreet marquetry of ebony, rosewood, tinted beech, and ash wood. A variety of smaller, more portable tables, also appeared, made either by "menuisiers" of sculpted wood or by "ébénistes" with inlaid marquetry of exotic woods and materials. These included tables for playing cards, tables for writing, and "tables de toilette", or dressing tables, which were usually of a simple form covered with fabric with embroidered designs or with lace. During the late reign of Louis XVI, between 1780 and 1790, the British custom of having a round dining room table permanently

title: Louis XVI style

text: by Rchard Mique. The most characteristic building of the late Louis XVI residential style is the Hôtel de Salm in Paris (Now the Palais de la Légion d'Honneur, built by Pierre Rousseau in 1751-83. Superbly crafted desks and cabinets were created for the Palace of Versailles and other royal residences by cabinetmakers Jean-Henri Riesener and David Roentgen, using inlays of fine woods, particularly mahogany, decorated with gilded bronze and mother of pearl. Equally fine sets of chairs and tables were made by Jean-Henri Riesener and Georges Jacob. The Royal tapestry works of Gobelins, Aubusson and Beauvais Tapestry continued to make

title: Louis XVI and the Legislative Assembly

text: for this end she still clung to the hope of foreign succour and corresponded with Vienna. The Left had three objects of enmity. First among these was the royal couple, King Louis XVI, Queen Marie Antoinette and the royal family. The Left as a whole wished to replace the monarchy with a republic, although this was not initially the public position of most of them. Second came the "émigrés" – now seen as a threat from abroad—and, third, the non-juring clergy. Those "émigrés" who had assembled in arms on the territories of the electors of Mainz and Treves (Trier) and

title: Louis XVI and the Legislative Assembly

text: Roman Empire afforded matter of complaint to France. The persistence of the French in offering only money as compensation to the German princes who had claims in Alsace afforded matter of complaint to the Empire. Foreign statesmen noticed with alarm the effect of the French Revolution upon opinion in their own countries, and they resented the endeavours of French revolutionaries to make converts there. Of these statesmen, the emperor Leopold II was the most intelligent. He had skillfully extricated himself from the embarrassments at home and abroad left by his predecessor Joseph II. He had family ties to Louis XVI,

title: Louis XVI of France

text: money), had given the alert. Louis XVI and his family were taken back to Paris where they arrived on 25 June. Viewed suspiciously as traitors, they were placed under tight house arrest upon their return to the Tuileries. At the individual level, the failure of the escape plans was due to a series of misadventures, delays, misinterpretations, and poor judgments. In a wider perspective, the failure was attributable to the king's indecision—he repeatedly postponed the schedule, allowing for smaller problems to become severe. Furthermore, he totally misunderstood the political situation. He thought only a small number of radicals in Paris

title: Louis XVI of France

text: had left Louis XVI a disastrous inheritance. Britain's victories had seen them capture most of France's colonial territories. While some were returned to France at the 1763 Treaty of Paris a vast swath of North America was ceded to the British. This had led to a strategy amongst the French leadership of seeking to rebuild the French military in order to fight a war of revenge against Britain, in which it was hoped the lost colonies could be recovered. France still maintained a strong influence in the West Indies, and in India maintained five trading posts, leaving opportunities for disputes

title: Louis XVI of France

text: "all traditional observances should be carefully maintained to avoid the impression that the Estates-General could make things up as it went along." Under this decision, the king agreed to retain many of the divisive customs which had been the norm in 1614 and before, but which was intolerable to a Third Estate buoyed by the recent proclamations of equality. For example, the First and Second Estates proceeded into the assembly wearing their finest garments, while the Third Estate was required to wear plain, oppressively somber black, an act of alienation that Louis XVI would likely have not condoned. He seemed

title: Louis XVI of France

text: blood sample was taken from a squash gourd carved to commemorate the heroes of the French Revolution that had, according to legend, been used to house one of the handkerchiefs dipped in Louis's blood. The 19th-century historian Jules Michelet attributed the restoration of the French monarchy to the sympathy that had been engendered by the execution of Louis XVI. Michelet's "Histoire de la Révolution Française" and Alphonse de Lamartine's "Histoire des Girondins", in particular, showed the marks of the feelings aroused by the revolution's regicide. The two writers did not share the same sociopolitical vision, but they agreed that, even

title: Louis XVI of France

text: disputes over the status of Austrian estates in Alsace, and the concern of members of the National Constituent Assembly about the agitation of "émigrés" nobles abroad, especially in the Austrian Netherlands and the minor states of Germany. In the end, the Legislative Assembly, supported by Louis XVI, declared war on Austria ("the King of Bohemia and Hungary") first, voting for war on 20 April 1792, after a long list of grievances was presented to it by the foreign minister, Charles François Dumouriez. Dumouriez prepared an immediate invasion of the Austrian Netherlands, where he expected the local population to rise against

title: Louis XVI of France

text: North fell and Great Britain immediately sued for peace terms; however, France delayed the end of the war until September 1783 in the hope of overrunning more British colonies in India and the West Indies. Great Britain recognised the independence of the thirteen colonies as the United States of America, and the French war ministry rebuilt its army. However, the British defeated the main French fleet in 1782 and successfully defended Jamaica and Gibraltar. France gained little from the 1783 Treaty of Paris that ended the war, except the colonies of Tobago and Senegal. Louis XVI was wholly disappointed in

title: Ignatius Bedros XVI Batanian

text: Ignatius Bedros XVI Batanian Ignatius Bedros XVI Batanian (in Armenian Իգնատիոս Պետրոս ԺԶ Պաթանեան French Ignace Pierre XVI Batanian; 15 February 1899 in Mardin, Ottoman Empire – 9 October 1979, in Lebanon) was Armenian Catholic Catholicos-Patriarch of Cilicia from 1962 until his resignation in 1976. His election came as replacement of cardinal patriarch Gregory-Petros XV Agagianian, who had been assigned responsibilities with the Roman Catholic Church at the Vatican. He was born as Louis Batanian in Mardin, Ottoman Empire. He was ordained a priest in 1921 when he was 22 years old. He was consecrated as bishop on 29 October

title: Descendants of Louis XIV of France

text: him), who eventually became Louis XVIII of France, a younger brother of the Duke's Father, Louis XVI of France, and was as such a member of the senior line of descent from Louis XIV and the Bourbon-Vendôme line of the House of Bourbon. After Louis XVIII's death, the throne went to yet another brother of Louis XVI, Charles, Count of Artois, who ascended the throne as Charles X of France. His son, Louis-Antoine, Duke of Angoulême, married "Madame Royale", daughter of his uncle, Louis XVI of France, in a move to unite both lines of Royal Family. However, the duke

title: Louis XVI and the Legislative Assembly

text: Louis XVI and the Legislative Assembly The French Revolution was a period in the history of France covering the years 1789 to 1799, in which republicans overthrew the Bourbon monarchy and the Roman Catholic Church in France perforce underwent radical restructuring. This article covers the one-year period from 1 October 1791 to September 1792, during which France was governed by the Legislative Assembly, operating under the French Constitution of 1791, between the periods of the National Constituent Assembly and of the National Convention. The National Constituent Assembly dissolved itself on 1 October 1791. Upon Robespierre's motion it had decreed that

title: Louis XVIII of France

text: title of Count of Provence as brother of King Louis XVI. On 21 September 1792, the National Convention abolished the monarchy and deposed Louis XVI, who was later executed by guillotine. When his young nephew Louis XVII died in prison in June 1795, Louis XVIII succeeded as titular king. Following the French Revolution and during the Napoleonic era, Louis XVIII lived in exile in Prussia, England, and Russia. When the Sixth Coalition finally defeated Napoleon in 1814, Louis XVIII was placed in what he, and the French royalists, considered his rightful position. However, Napoleon escaped from his exile in Elba

title: Louis XVI of France

text: Marie Therese, was given over to the Austrians in exchange for French prisoners of war, eventually dying childless in 1851. "Louis-Auguste de France", who was given the title Duc de Berry at birth, was born in the Palace of Versailles. One of seven children, he was the second surviving son of Louis, the Dauphin of France, and thus the grandson of Louis XV of France and of his consort, Maria Leszczyńska. His mother was Marie-Josèphe of Saxony, the daughter of Frederick Augustus II of Saxony, Prince-Elector of Saxony and King of Poland. Louis-Auguste was overlooked by his parents who favored

title: Louis XVI of France

text: his older brother, Louis, duc de Bourgogne, who was regarded as bright and handsome but who died at the age of nine in 1761. Louis-Auguste, a strong and healthy boy but very shy, excelled in his studies and had a strong taste for Latin, history, geography, and astronomy and became fluent in Italian and English. He enjoyed physical activities such as hunting with his grandfather and rough play with his younger brothers, Louis-Stanislas, comte de Provence, and Charles-Philippe, comte d'Artois. From an early age, Louis-Auguste was encouraged in another of his interests, locksmithing, which was seen as a useful pursuit

title: DuBarry Was a Lady

text: Alex Barton. Alex is the brother of her friend Alice, who is in love with Harry Norton. Meanwhile, Alex is unhappily married to Ann. Charley, Louis's replacement, suggests that Louis slip Alex a Mickey Finn. While trying to do so, Louis inadvertently drinks the Mickey Finn, falls asleep, and dreams he is King Louis XV of France, and that May is Madame du Barry. In his dream, Charley becomes the Dauphin (later Louis XVI) and Harry becomes the captain of the guard, with Ann as Du Barry's lady-in-waiting, and Alex as a peasant who wrote a rude song about The

title: Louis, Dauphin of France (son of Louis XV)

text: Denis Basilica. Louis, Dauphin of France (son of Louis XV) Louis, Dauphin of France (4 September 1729 – 20 December 1765) was the elder and only son of King Louis XV of France and his wife, Queen Marie Leszczyńska to survive to adulthood. He had a younger brother, Philippe, who died as a toddler. As a son of the king, Louis was a "fils de France". As heir apparent, he became Dauphin of France. However, he died before ascending to the throne. Three of his sons became kings of France: Louis XVI (reign: 1774–1792), Louis XVIII (reign: 1814–1815; 1815–1824) and

text: Louis, Dauphin of France (son of Louis XV) Louis, Dauphin of France (4 September 1729 – 20 December 1765) was the elder and only son of King Louis XV of France and his wife, Queen Marie Leszczyńska to survive to adulthood. He had a younger brother, Philippe, who died as a toddler. As a son of the king, Louis was a "fils de France". As heir apparent, he became Dauphin of France. However, he died before ascending to the throne. Three of his sons became kings of France: Louis XVI (reign: 1774–1792), Louis XVIII (reign: 1814–1815; 1815–1824) and Charles X

title: Maison royale de Saint-Louis

text: "These girls are prudes. (...) They are taught a manner that would make them all ladies of the palace, or they are unhappy and impertinent". In 1750, the marquis d'Argenson even affirmed "We know the establishment at Saint-Cyr is good for nothing. It produces nothing but prudes, who only marry in their provinces or are made to enrage their husbands. In 1786, Élisabeth de France, sister of Louis XVI, celebrated the centenary of the Maison Royale de Saint-Louis, and a firework display was put on in its courtyard, though Louis XVI did not attend in person, watching it from the

title: Louis Auguste Le Tonnelier de Breteuil

text: his brother and found a pretext for non-interference on Louis's behalf in the contradictory statements of the negotiators. His attempts were ultimately in vain. The Bourbon monarchy in France was overthrown in 1792, followed by massacres of many Royalists in Paris. In January 1793, Louis XVI was executed. In October, Marie Antoinette met a similar fate. In 1795, their son, Louis XVII died in prison. Breteuil himself was the object of violent attacks from the party of the princes, who asserted that he persisted in exercising powers which had been revoked by Louis XVI. After the execution of Marie Antoinette

title: Louis XVI of France

text: for a child. Upon the death of his father, who died of tuberculosis on 20 December 1765, the eleven-year-old Louis-Auguste became the new Dauphin. His mother never recovered from the loss of her husband and died on 13 March 1767, also from tuberculosis. The strict and conservative education he received from the Duc de La Vauguyon, "gouverneur des Enfants de France" (governor of the Children of France), from 1760 until his marriage in 1770, did not prepare him for the throne that he was to inherit in 1774 after the death of his grandfather, Louis XV. Throughout his education, Louis-Auguste

title: Louis XVI style

text: large tapestries, but an increasing part of their business was the manufacture of upholstery for the new sets of chairs, sofas and other furnishings for the royal residences and nobility. Wallpaper also became an important part of interior design, thanks to new processes developed by Reveillon. The Lous XVI style was a reaction to and transition the French Baroque style, which had dominated French architecture, decoration and art since the mid-17th century, and partly from a desire to establish a new "Beau idéal", or ideal of beauty, based on the purity and grandeur of the art of the Ancient Romans

title: Louis XVI furniture

text: a passion for things English, brought an enthusiasm for mahogany. The chairs of the Louis XV period were characterized by elegance, lightness and simplicity of form. The most notable craftsmen of chairs were Georges Jacob, furnisher to the Royal "Garde-Meuble", or furniture depot, from 1774, and Jean-Baptiste-Claude Sené who obtained the title of official "fourniseur" in 1785. The basic types of chairs were little changed from the Louis XV style, but a wider variety of forms appeared, particularly in the "dossier", or back, of the armchairs. These included "en raquette", "en chapeau", "en lyre", "en grebe", "en anse de pannier",

title: Louis XVIII of France

text: Auguste, succeeded their grandfather as King Louis XVI. As eldest brother of the King, Louis Stanislas received the title Monsieur. Louis Stanislas longed for political influence. He attempted to gain admittance to the King's council in 1774, but failed. Louis Stanislas was left in a political limbo that he called "a gap of 12 years in my political life". Louis XVI granted Louis Stanislas revenues from the Duchy of Alençon in December 1774. The duchy was given to enhance Louis Stanislas' prestige, however, the appanage generated only 300,000 livres "per annum", an amount much lower than it had been at

title: Louis XVI furniture

text: had little interest in the arts, but his wife, Marie-Antoinette, and her brothers-in-law, the Comte de Provence (the future Louis XVIII) and the Comte d'Artois (the future Charles X), were deeply interested in the arts, gave their protection to artists, and ordered large amounts of furniture in the neoclassical style, inspired by Greco-Roman art. They were followed by the wealthy nobles who furnished their chateaux and Paris town houses in the new style. The transition from the baroque and the rocaille style to the neoclassical style had begun in about 1760, near the end of the reign of Louis XV.

title: Louis XVIII of France

text: the Count of Provence, who abhorred the radical reforms proposed by Calonne, the opportunity he had long been waiting for to establish himself in politics. The reforms proposed a new property tax, and new elected provincial assemblies that would have a say in local taxation. Calonne's proposition was rejected outright by the notables, and, as a result, Louis XVI dismissed him. The Archbishop of Toulouse, Étienne Charles de Loménie de Brienne, acquired Calonne's ministry. Brienne attempted to salvage Calonne's reforms, but ultimately failed to convince the notables to approve them. A frustrated Louis XVI dissolved the assembly. Brienne's reforms were

title: Louis XVIII of France

text: to France. Their property and titles were confiscated. The monarchy of France was abolished by the National Convention on 21 September 1792. Louis XVI was executed in January 1793. This left his young son, Louis Charles, as the titular King. The princes-in-exile proclaimed Louis Charles "Louis XVII of France". The Count of Provence now unilaterally declared himself regent for his nephew, who was too young to be head of the House of Bourbon. Louis Charles died in June 1795. His only surviving sibling was his sister Marie-Thérèse, who was not considered a candidate for the throne because of France's traditional

title: Louis Legendre

text: that demanded the removal of King Louis XVI on Champ de Mars in July 1791 (and during the subsequent massacre ordered by Jean Sylvain Bailly). Louis Legendre also took part in the 10th of August Attack on the Tuileries Palace (1792). Deputy for the Seine "département" to the National Convention, he joined the non-affiliated group led by Jean-Paul Marat, and voted for the execution of Louis XVI. He was sent on missions to Lyon (in February 1793, before the town revolted) and to the Seine-Inférieure (from August to October 1793). Upon his return from Lyon, he was singled out as

title: Louis Tribert

text: Louis Tribert Pierre-Louis Tribert (23 June 1819 – 15 June 1899) was a French politician. He was one of 116 permanent senators of the French Third Republic. Pierre-Louis Tribert was born in Paris on 23 June 1819, son of Pierre Tribert, deputy for Deux-Sèvres. His mother was Catherine Lecointe-Puyraveau, the daughter of Michel Mathieu Lecointe-Puyraveau, a member of the National Convention representing Deux-Sèvres who had voted for the death of Louis XVI of France. He was a brilliant student at the Bourbon College, and then spent some time at the University of Berlin. He traveled in Europe, Egypt and North

title: Louis Gugy

text: bodyguards of King Louis XVI during the revolution. As a young man, Louis served in France as a Lieutenant under his father during the revolution. Following the overthrow of the King Louis XVI, both father and son were offered advancement in the French revolutionary army, and most brilliant prospects were held out to them. They declined these offers, and Louis' father had the honor of marching his regiment from Paris back to Switzerland without losing a man. Considering that the elder Gugy's men were disarmed, exposed to all manner of seductions, supplied by wine and allured by women, this feat

title: Louis XV furniture

text: not much changed. This marked the beginning of what became French neoclassicism or Style Louis XVI. The earliest furniture designers under Louis XV during the Regency included Claude III Audran, who had been responsible for furniture design under Louis XIV; Pierre Lepautre, who in 1699 became chief designer for Louis XIV, and Gilles-Marie Oppenordt, born in Holland, who became the furniture designer for the Regent. Opponordt's designs in 1714 for the decor of the Hotel de Pomponne on Place des Victoires, featuring curving S and C forms, helped introduce the new style to Parisians. Another important figure in introducing the

title: Louis de Roll

text: Louis de Roll Baron Louis de Roll (born 19 September 1750) was a Swiss soldier during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Baron Louis de Roll was born on 19 September 1750 and was from Soleure (Solothurn) in the Old Swiss Confederacy. He was in the service of the French King Louis XVI, as an officer in the Swiss Guards of his Maison Militaire du Roi (Royal Military Household). De Roll held the rank of lieutenant-colonel and was adjutant to the future Charles X of France (then the Count of Artois), the younger brother of the king who served as

title: Louis XVI furniture

text: of drawings of fanciful "Etruscan" furniture, inspired by a British movement and anticipating the wave of neoclassicism of the French Directory. The console table, which had first appeared under Louis XV, was designed to be against or attached to the wall, and was often made by the same "menuisiers" who created the wooden wall panelling. It was decorated only on the front and sides. The top was made of marble or other stone, and was either rectangular of half-moon shaped. It usual had four feet, joined together an X-shaped or H-shaped brace for stability. The central point of the brace

title: Pope Benedict XVI

text: Tuesday, 21 October 2014 during the opening of the academic year. Benedict XVI attended the consistory for new cardinals in February 2015, greeting Pope Francis at the beginning of the celebration. In 2015, Benedict XVI, who now prefers to be known as "Father Benedict", spent the summer at Castel Gandolfo and participated in two public events. "Pope Francis invited Benedict XVI to spend some time in Castel Gandolfo in the month of July and Benedict accepted", Fr. Lombardi told journalists on 15 June. Benedict XVI remained there for two weeks. While in Castel Gandolfo, Benedict XVI received two honorary doctorates,

title: Louis XVIII of France

text: physician, confirmed her pregnancy. On 19 December 1778, the Queen gave birth to a daughter, who was named Marie-Thérèse Charlotte de France and given the honorific title Madame Royale. The birth of a girl came as a relief to the Count of Provence, who kept his position as heir to Louis XVI, since Salic Law excluded women from acceding to the throne of France. However, Louis Stanislas did not remain heir to the throne much longer. On 22 October 1781, Marie Antoinette gave birth to the Dauphin Louis Joseph. Louis Stanislas and his brother, the Count of Artois, served as

title: Louis XVI style

text: period is the small Chateau de Bagatelle, (1777) designed and built by François-Joseph Bélanger for the Comte d'Artois, Louis XVI's brother.. The small chateau was designed and completed in just sixty three days, to win a bet with Marie Antoinette that he could build a chateau in less than three months. Marie Antoinette had a similar small neoclassical belvedere created by architect Richard Mique, who had also designed her picturesque rustic village in the gardens. it was completed in 1789, the year of the French Revolution. Another unusual architectural project was the transformation of the Palais Royal in the heart

title: Louis VIII, Duke of Bavaria

text: preference to another (illegitimate) son. Louis allied with Henry XVI of Bavaria-Landshut against his father, who was finally taken prisoner in 1443, but Louis VIII died two years later. When Louis VII also died in 1447, Henry finally succeeded in Bavaria-Ingolstadt. Louis VIII, Duke of Bavaria Louis VIII of Bavaria (German: "Ludwig VIII der Höckrige", Louis the Hunchback) (1 September 1403 – 7 April 1445) was Duke of Bavaria-Ingolstadt from 1443 until his death. He was born in Paris, a son of Louis VII and his first wife Anne de Bourbon-La Marche, a daughter of John I, Count of La

title: Louis XVI furniture

text: It was advanced by the reports of the discoveries at the archeological sites at Herculaneum and Pompeii. Madame de Pompadour, mistress of Louis XV, had dispatched a group of scholars to Italy to report on the findings. The group included the designer Jean-Charles Delafosse and the Flemish architect, sculptor and engraver Jean-François de Nefforge. Their engravings of Greek and Roman art inspired many furniture designers and particularly the "ébénistes", who made the fine marquetry inlaid ornament that decorated chests and tables. Marie-Antoinette was a promoter of the new style even before she became queen. In 1770, after her marriage to

title: Jean-Louis Couasnon

text: Jean-Louis Couasnon Jean-Louis Couasnon (1747-1802) was a French sculptor who specialized in portraits of living people. Jean-Louis Couasnon was born in Culan, Cher, in 1747. He studied under the sculptor Jean-Baptiste d'Huez. In 1777 he was working for the Menus-Plaisirs du Roi, for whom he made painted cartoons of Louis XVI of France and Marie Antoinette He exhibited at the "Salon de la Correspondance" in 1779 and in 1785. He exhibited at the "Salons du Louvre" from 1795 to 1802. Couasnon died in 1802. Couasnon specialized in portraiture, particularly of children, and rendered their expressions with great sweetness and resemblance.