{"product_id":"the-dream-of-absolutism-hall-bjrnstad-9780226803838","title":"The Dream of Absolutism: Louis XIV and the Logic of Modernity","description":"\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Dream of Absolutism\u003c\/i\u003e examines the political aesthetics of power under Louis XIV.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e What was absolutism, and how did it work? What was the function of the ostentatious display surrounding Louis XIV at Versailles? What is gained--and what is lost--by approaching such expressions of absolutism as propaganda, as present-day scholars tend to do? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In this sweeping reconsideration of absolutist culture, Hall Bj rnstad argues that the exuberance of Louis XIV's reign was not top-down propaganda in any modern sense, but rather a dream dreamt collectively, by king, court, image-makers, and nation alike. Bj rnstad explores this dream through a sustained close analysis of a corpus of absolutist artifacts, ranging from Charles Le Brun's famous paintings in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles via the king's secret \u003ci\u003eM moires\u003c\/i\u003e to two little-known particularly extravagant verbal and textual celebrations of the king. The dream of absolutism, Bj rnstad concludes, lives at the intersection of politics and aesthetics. It is the carrier of a force that emerges as a glorious image; a participatory emotional reality that requires reality to conform to it. It is a dream, finally, that still shapes our collective political imaginary today.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Hall Bjnstad\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 022680383X\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780226803838\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Chicago Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/15\/2021\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 256\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.79lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.90h x 5.91w x 0.71d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 07\/01\/2022","brand":"Hall Bjnstad","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43991117693183,"sku":"9780226803838","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_aedc63c4-0e58-4064-95f4-dd6160572299.jpg?v=1683308535","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-dream-of-absolutism-hall-bjrnstad-9780226803838","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}