School of Pierre Mignard, “the Roman” (1612-1695)
Oil on canvas Versailles, Musée National des Châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon, inv. MV 7217
Flanked by two military trophies from Roman Antiquity (a breastplate and helmet stuck on a lictor’s fasces), a winged spirit brandishes a globe bearing the royal coat of arms: “azure with three gold lilies.” Above the emblematic figure of Louis XIV, a sun with the face of Apollo, the Greek god of the sun, and the Latin motto NEC PLURIBUS IMPAR (literally, “Sufficient for several”), which Louis XIV explained as follows in his Memoirs: “I would be just as capable of ruling still other empires as would the sun of illuminating still other worlds with its rays.” That this power is there to serve peace is indicated by the weapons on the ground and the laurel branch held by the spirit.
