https://earlymoderneurope.hist.sites.carleton.edu/files/original/3aff85f1cfe03575af22d091f5905c62.jpg b259ebb3ba6f41ba04f512143739e0ef Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Painting Physical Dimensions The actual physical size of the original image 151.1 cm by 109 cm Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Portrait of King Charles III of Spain Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Anton Raphael Mengs Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Elliot Cahn Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1765 Description An account of the resource Enlightenment ideals were not, on the surface at least, confined to just the leading intellectuals of the time. European monarchs began attaching themselves to Enlightenment principles and thinkers. For instance, the French philosopher Voltaire became a mentor to King Frederick II of Prussia (who became know, like many other Enlightened rules, as “the Great”) (Gordon 29). Enlightened despots, as these monarchs are known, were absolute monarchs who pursued reforms based on the values of the Enlightenment. The Spanish ruler most closely associated with the Enlightenment is King Charles III, who reigned from 1759 to 1788. There is plenty of historiographical debate, however, over whether or not he was a truly enlightened despot. R. R. Palmer, for instance, calls Charles III “one of the most celebrated and successful of the ‘enlightened despots’ “ (Palmer 299). Palmer says that while Charles III employed a “non-political” type of despotism (which is to say he did not seek conflict with the Spanish nobility), he had some success improving Spain’s economic and technological prospects while boosting governmental efficiency (Palmer 299). Jonathan Israel disagrees, however, boldly stating, “the deeply entrenched images of…Charles III of Spain…as ‘enlightened’ is assuredly one of the reasons the Enlightenment as a whole has acquired a bad name” (Israel 534). Israel questions enlightened despots’ commitment to Enlightenment values, noting that Charles III would disregard them when it most suited him. While Charles III did make economic reforms aimed at reducing barriers to trade, many of the actions taken by him and his government were done to solidify their power. Councils and local governments were replaced by ministers, changes that streamlined the king’s ability to govern. The Jesuits were also successfully expelled from Spain due to suspicions about their lack of loyalty to the crown (Lynch), again demonstrating the self-interest in pursuing Enlightenment causes. This information adds more weight to Israel’s argument that Charles III did not truly adopt the tenants of Enlightenment while governing. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/Charles_III_of_Spain_high_resolution.jpg Gordon, Daniel, and Voltaire. Candide. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2016. Israel, Jonathan. "Enlightenment! Which Enlightenment?" Journal of the History of Ideas 67, no. 3 (2006): 523-45. http://www.jstor.org/stable/30141040. Lynch, John. "Charles III." Encyclopædia Britannica. January 26, 2010. Accessed November 19, 2018. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-III-king-of-Spain. Palmer, R. R., and David Armitage. "THE LIMITATIONS OF ENLIGHTENED DESPOTISM." In The Age of the Democratic Revolution: A Political History of Europe and America, 1760-1800, 280-306. Princeton University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt5hhrg5.17. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Free Re-use