The Life of Saint Louis

This mural, painted by the celebrated French artist Alexandre Cabanel, tells the story of Saint Louis. Saint Louis is King Louis IX of France, and he earned the "Saint" in his name because the Roman Catholic Church recognized him as a saint after his death. A devout Christian who lived simply and ruled solely for the good of his people, he was canonized in recognition of those merits. The mural recounts his life in three scenes, which we'll take from left to right.

The first scene shows his mother turning the pages of a book while the young Louis listens closely. He is said to have received a very strict, deeply religious Christian upbringing. His mother was so firm that she reportedly told him she would rather see him lying dead at her feet than see him commit a sin. Louis IX grew up to attend Mass twice every morning and to kneel in prayer fifty times before bed. He also tried to run the kingdom according to Christian principles. He kept his own desires in check, kept his character pure, and gave generously to others. He founded charitable houses where he personally cared for lepers and the blind, and he even washed the feet of the poor. No wonder his people revered him as both a king and a Christian.

The second scene shows Saint Louis delivering a just verdict. His generosity went beyond everyday kindness: he worked to make the law, institutions, and trials fair as well. He is said to have introduced legal principles such as the presumption of innocence and to have softened the brutal practice of torture.

The third scene depicts Louis IX taken prisoner in a region that corresponds to present-day Egypt. His deep faith led him to join the Crusades, the wars between Islam and Christianity, and he took part in the Seventh and Eighth. In the first, the Seventh Crusade, he was defeated and captured, and his Muslim captors mocked him harshly. This scene shows that moment. Having tasted bitter humiliation, Louis went back for revenge in the Eighth Crusade. But he was already in his fifties, and perhaps the strain was too much: he contracted scurvy and died on the battlefield. Until the very end, the story goes, he cried out "Jerusalem," still burning to retake the city.

His fervent faith won him sainthood after his death. To this day, Louis IX is remembered in France as its most moral and devoted monarch.