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A HISTORY OF MODERN EUROPE
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ABSOLUTISM
This 1667 portrait of Louis XIV by Henri Testelein clearly reflects the absolutism of the Sun King, who is extravagantly dressed and draped in royal garments, to symbolize the concentration of power in his person, and his person alone. The heels, bright red clothing, large wig, and gilded accoutrements serve as a spectacle to focus the attention on the Sun King, and remind his subjects that he holds absolute power over them, as his placement in the middle of the painting highlights. -
WOMEN'S MARCH ON VERSAILLES
This 1789 illustration of unknown author represents the Women's March on Versailles with Lafayette and the Royal Family. This moment marked a turning point in the French Revolution. The King left Versailles with the women as a result, and the Palace's period as the center of French absolutism came to an end. -
ROMANTICISM
The movement of Romanticism, as exemplified in this painting by Albert Bierstadt around 1876 entitled Mount Corcoran, shifted perspectives away from the violence of the Age of Revolutions, and towards an emphasis on the imagination and emotions, as well as the power of nature over man. The painting shows the beauty and magic of nature, and lacks any form of human interference to reinforce the idea of Nature's dominance. -
OCTOBER REVOLUTION
The October Revolution, seen here through a painting by Ivan Vladimirov dating from 1917, caused complete upheaval in Russia. The Tsar and his family were murdered, any symbol of imperial authority was removed (as seen in the painting where a red communist flag replaces the gilded imperial emblems), and communism replaced the absolute monarchy that had existed for centuries.