Louis XIV receives the Swiss ambassadors 1664

The contrast between the two dress cultures of the 17th century – court society and middle class, Protestant society – is clear in this picture. The king wears a wig, broad petticoat breeches, court train, silk stockings with garters and loops in accordance with court etiquette. On the opposite side is the plain, dark, but refined middle class dress with ruff or border (third man from the right), sleeveless robe with trimming, breeches and Dutch hat, which is held in the hand out of respect for the king.

Adam Frans van der Meulen (1632–1690), The Reception of the Ambassadors of the Thirteen Swiss Cantons by Louis XIV at the Louvre; oil on canvas, 44 x 66 cm, 1664; source: © Bildagentur für Kunst, Kultur und Geschichte (bpk) | RMN | Gérard Blot, Number 00050607, location of the original: Châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon, Versailles.