One of Europe's most powerful kings, who epitomised monarchical absolutism, was quite literally immortalised in an unexpected way: transformed into a painting. This is not legend, but fact—Louis XIV (1638-1715), the "Sun King," became more than just a symbol in history; he became a part of art itself.

Looking back at history, Louis XIV, the man who ruled France absolutely, making it one of Europe's greatest powers while also plunging it deeply into debt, was buried upon his death in the crypt of the Basilica of Saint-Denis in the town of the same name. He was seventy-seven years old, a record for the time, making his reign one of the longest in history. "Why are you crying? What did you think, that I was immortal?" said the Sun King shortly before breathing his last, now old and ill. In one respect, however, he was wrong: about a century later, in 1810, a French painter, Alexandre Paude de Saint-Martin (1751–1820), known for his depictions of iconic cityscapes, used an uncommon ingredient on a painter's palette to paint his painting "View of Caen": the heart of Louis XIV himself.

Following the French Revolution (1789–1794), many symbolic sites of the despised and powerless monarchy were destroyed or stolen. Among these were the remains of former kings of France, which were dispersed, destroyed, or seized as personal heirlooms. Alexandre de Saint-Martin kept the mummified hearts of Kings Louis XII and Louis XIV in his home—not to sell them as valuable relics, but to display them as his own works of art. The painter went further, mixing the Sun King's heart with paint to depict a peaceful, harmless French rural landscape. Thus, a macabre and curious story hides behind a simple painting, and this creative gesture rendered the great and controversial life of King Louis XIV even more immortal.