PORTRAIT D'UN ROI DU GRAND SIÈCLE - Louis XIII et la peinture !

In the shadow of the beginning of the 17th century, a man seems to rise among the French monarchy and draw the future foundations of the absolute monarchy of the great century. Louis XIII, King of France from 1610 to 1643, was at the origin of art, grace, balance, classicism in painting, which will know great hours under Louis XIV. Son of Henry IV, sadly famous for his tragic death caused by Havaïc and Marie de Médicis, Louis XIII was particularly known for having been at the origin of the construction of a hunting pavilion on the lands of Versailles, future Grand Palais de Louis XIV. His portraits were numerous and just as praiseworthy as the others. The carcass of a monarch, accompanied by royal attributes and various personifications, sits next to each other and seems to form a uniform set intended for the glory of the king. The presence of arts and the use of which was convenient under the reign of a monarch is usually accompanied by a more complex, cultural and social policy, of which the glorification of a reign is the main concern. Louis XIII played a fundamental role in the establishment of an aesthetic specific to his reign and which will find its letters of nobility following the arrival in power of Louis XIV. French classicism was born during the Great Century and generally translates into a return to pure forms, perfect proportions, all through a balanced composition. Nicolas Poussin and Charles Le Brun, great representatives of this movement, are the perfect example. Classicism can be considered as a constant reference to Antiquity, a real desire for harmony, an ideal of perfection. This ideal will even be pushed to the extreme at the end of the reign of Louis XIII. A style of painting called Parisian Laticism indeed developed in the 1640s, following the return of Nicolas Poussin to Paris. A classicist painting is born and then opposes the great painter of the king, Simon Vouet, who presents more of a penchant for the baroque features than for the learned painting expressed by Nicolas Poussin or Laurent de La Hire. The appearance of Christ at the pilgrimage of Emmaus in 1656 by the painter de La Hire as well as the predilection of Saint Paul of Stach-le-Sieur are the main examples where rigour and measure meet in the canvas. The piety of Louis XIII, his righteousness and his commitment to the laws have been transcribed by Simon Vouet, painter of the Court. Louis XIII is shown here sitting in the centre of a composition sprinkled with a red drapery and a landscape. The king is accompanied by two feminine figures painted at his feet, thus forming a pyramidal composition, whose top is illustrated by the figure of the sovereign crowned with laurels. The composition seems to highlight an infinity of draperies, which, from one figure to another, finally structure the work by a boiling of folds and changing chromatic shades. The red drapery serves to highlight the glorious figure of the sovereign, who himself has a blue drapery accompanying his white stole of the Order of the Holy Spirit, and which finally guides the viewer to the two feminine figures crouched in admiration before the king. A woman painted on the left of the canvas is supposed to represent France, while the woman on the right of the work represents Navarre. These two allegorical figures aim to highlight the belonging of the kings of France to the title of King of Navarre, which will be finally reunited with the Kingdom of France as early as 1620. The canvas painted by Simon Vouet is called Once, A Law, A King, an adage that finally presents the authority exercised by the king over the Kingdom of France. A single religion, official Catholic, a single sovereign and a single source of law. I hope you enjoyed this video. Do not hesitate to comment, share and put a little blue thumb. See you soon for a new episode.