Martin Desjardins | The Four Captives, 1682-1686 | Tutt'Art@

The "Louis XIV Victory Monument", also known as "Four Prisoners" or "Four Defeated Nations", was an elaborate trophy memorial celebrating the military and domestic successes of the early decades of Louis XIV's personal rule, primarily those during the Franco-Dutch War of 1672–1678, on the Place des Victoires (Victories' Square) in central Paris.

It was designed and sculpted by Martin Desjardins (French sculptor and stuccoist of Dutch birth, 1637-1694) between 1682-1686 on a commission by François d'Aubusson, Duke of La Feuillade.

Martin Desjardins | Spain or Hope (detail) | Louvre Museum

Portrait of Martin Desjardins by Hyacinthe Rigaud in 1686, with the monument in the background, now at Versailles

The monument's centerpiece, a colossal statue of Louis XIV crowned by an allegory of victory, was destroyed in 1792 during the French Revolution.

Significant other parts of the monument have been preserved and are now mostly kept at the Louvre.

Each of the four prisoners simultaneously evoked an age of life and a specific emotion, and was also widely understood to refer to a vanquished nation:

Youth / hope / Spain;

Adulthood / rebellion / Holland;

Middle age / grief / Brandenburg;

Old age / despondency / the Holy Roman Empire.

The link with European states, however, was not made entirely explicit.

Three of the figures were easy to identify as they represented France's main adversaries of the time, but the forth one, now understood as representing Brandenburg, has been misinterpreted variously in the past as the Duchy of Savoy or the Ottoman Empire.

Between them were scattered broken weapons and military emblems, including an imperial ensign that anachronistically combines the SPQR motto of Ancient Rome with the double-headed eagle of the Holy Roman Empire.

Martin Desjardins | Four Captives, also known as Four Defeated Nations: Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, Brandenburg and Holland (Place des Victoires) | Louvre Museum

Martin Desjardins | Holy Roman Empire or Despondency | Louvre Museum

Martin Desjardins | Holland or Anger | Louvre Museum

Martin Desjardins | Spain or Hope | Louvre Museum

Il "Monumento alla Vittoria di Luigi XIV", conosciuto anche come "Quattro prigionieri"o "Quattro Nazioni sconfitte", fu un elaborato trofeo commemorativo che celebrava i successi militari dei primi decenni del governo di Luigi XIV, principalmente quelli durante la guerra franco-olandese del 1672-1678, sulla Place des Victoires nel centro di Parigi.

Fu progettato e scolpito da Martin Desjardins (Scultore francese di origine olandese, 1637-1694) tra il 1682-1686 su commissione di François d'Aubusson, duca di La Feuillade.

Il fulcro del monumento, una colossale statua di Luigi XIV coronata da un'allegoria della vittoria, fu distrutta nel 1792 durante la Rivoluzione francese.

Altre parti significative del monumento sono state conservate e ora sono per lo più conservate al Louvre.