Final answer:
Louis XIV's art and architecture, particularly the Palace of Versailles, symbolized the age of Absolutism by showcasing opulence and grandeur as expressions of his absolute power and divine right. This was evident in the French Baroque style of architecture and the idealized portrayal in Louis XIV's portraits.
Step-by-step explanation:
The art and architecture of Louis XIV symbolize the age of Absolutism and his power primarily through grandeur, opulence, and the assertion of divine right. The magnificent Palace of Versailles, with its elaborate French Baroque architecture, executed by Louis Le Vau, typifies the excessive luxury of the period. The enormity and luxury of Versailles, especially seen in the famed Hall of Mirrors, served as a stark representation of Louis XIV's absolute power and divine right to rule. Additionally, the portrait of Louis XIV by Hyacinthe Rigaud idealizes the king and underscores his majestic presence which was designed to highlight his supremacy over all others in France.
Further emphasizing the absolutist state, Louis XIV established the Royal Academy of Fine Arts to control art and imposed a classicizing style that aligns with his ideologies. As the art and architecture during his reign were used as instruments of the monarchy, they were instrumental in conveying the might and divine sanction of his rule. Louis XIV's use of art to symbolize absolutism was replaced by the emergence of Enlightenment values, leading to a shift in style and substance with the onset of the French Revolution and the later promotion of Neoclassicism which favored rationality and austerity reminiscent of Republican Rome.