Bernini, Warin, and Coysevox & the Bust of Louis X
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Battle of the Busts: Bernini, Warin, and Coysevox & the Bust of Louis XIV Jennifer Potter Dr. Westin ARH4931 Bernini Seminar 4 December 2012 King Louis XIV, who famously Proclaimed “L’État, c’est moi”, is remembered as much for his greatness as a ruler as for his vast contributions to the arts. He inherited a love of beautiful objects from his mother, Anne of Austria, and an interest in collecting from Cardinal Mazarin, who ruled alongside him until 1661 when Louis assumed Personal rule of France. His develoPment of the French absolutist state and his concern with his own glory consumed the arts as well.1 While Louis was a Patron of many different artistic forms, from architecture, to gardens, to decorative arts, he had a sPecial interest in creating monuments to himself. Throughout his reign, he had three Portrait busts commissioned by three different, renowned sculPtors: Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Jean Warin, and Antoine Coysevox. These Pieces very much embody styles and techniques unique to the individual artist. Today, while all three exist as exemplary rePresentations of the Sun King, that of Gian Lorenzo Bernini, the Italian Baroque master, is widely regarded as suPerior.2 However, this general consensus was not always the case, and the situation becomes complicated given the historical context of these works and the background of the artists involved. In order to fully understand the greatness of Bernini’s masterPiece, it becomes necessary to study the setting of Louis XIV’s court, the intentions of the artists who sculpted these busts, and visual aspects of the actual works. Ultimately, Bernini’s bust of Louis XIV emerges as 1 Peter Burke, The Fabrication of Louis XIV (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1992), 223-35. R.W. Berger fully discusses Louis’ concern for the arts in The Palace of the Sun: The Louvre of Louis XIV (University Park, PA, 1993) and A Royal Passion: Louis XIV as Patron of Architecture (New Haven, 1992). 2 Cecil Hilton Monk Gould, Bernini in France: An Episode in Seventeenth-Century History (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1992), 86-87; Getty Center, Bernini and the Birth of Baroque Portrait Sculpture, ex. cat. 2008, ed. Andrea Bacchi, Catherine Hess, and Jennifer Montagu: 267. triumphant because it exPertly succeeds both in rePresenting the individual likeness of the King while also embodying his status as the world’s most Powerful sovereign. Louis XIV was born in 1639 to King Louis XIII of France and Queen Anne of Austria. UPon his father’s death in 1643, Louis was too young to become king so he ruled alongside a regency council, headed by Cardinal Mazarin, until 1661. When Louis obtained Personal control of the government, he immediately moved to centralize political authority.3 At the time, France was emerging from years of foreign war and disorder so the Public generally welcomed this new sense of order. Louis also aPPointed Jean-Baptiste Colbert as the new Contrôleur général des Finances in 1665 to rectify the national debt crisis. He quickly established a system of national taxation, and he bolstered commerce and trade through the Promotion of national industries, such as tapestry production at the Gobelins factory. Louis also moved to centralize legal matters through his implementation of many Grandes Ordonnances that created universal laws and regulations throughout the country. Under the reign of Louis XIV, France became the model of an absolute monarchy.4 Louis very much used the arts as a means of ProPagating his image as the absolute monarch. Just as he maintained Political and economic authority, he also established various administrative bodies to create a state policy on the arts. He formed the head office of the Surintendent des Batiments, Arts, et Manufactures du Roi to approve financing and direction of all projects. Beneath this title, two bodies were established to oversee art theory and teaching; the Academie Royale de 3 Burke, The Fabrication of Louis XIV, 227. 4 Burke, The Fabrication of Louis XIV, 237-46; John Merryman Provides a complete discussion of the Grandes Ordannces in The Civil Law Tradition: An Introduction to the Legal Systems of Europe and Latin America (Stanford University Press, 2007). Peinture et de Sculpture oversaw painting and sculpture while the Academie Royale d’Architecture was the suPreme authority on architecture.5 In general, creative work in the reign of Louis XIV was directed by two privileged artists: the Premier Peinture du Roi and the Premier Architecte du Roi. Charles Le Brun and Louis Le Vau resPectively occuPied these roles for the majority of his rule. As the arts molded to the fancies of the absolute monarch, a distinctive French style came into Place. Louis, influenced by Colbert, had a Preference for French classicism, marked by Perfectly convex curves, simple geometrical outlines, flawless symmetry, and Roman ornamentation that conveyed a sense of martial heroism. Through these numerous artistic media, Louis PerPetuated a form of royal ProPaganda that served as a means of commemorating this legendary ruler.6 Interestingly enough, while a firmly established doctrine and hierarchy existed for painting and architecture, very little structure existed for the medium of sculPture. There was also no office of the “Premier sculPteur” of the King. This lack of structure in the medium thus offered an oPPortunity for multiPle artists with conflicting styles to commemorate the king through sculPture. A Prime example of this occurrence is the three portrait busts consecutively created by Bernini, Warin, and Coysevox. However, in order to fully understand the success or lack thereof in their end Pieces, it becomes necessary to consider their individual backgrounds as artists that led them to create such works. 5 Robert W. Berger, A Royal Passion: Louis XIV as Patron of Architecture (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), 93-121. Also see I. Thompson, The Sun King’s Garden: Louis XIV, André Le Nôtre and the Creation of the Gardens of Versailles (London, 2006). 6 Geoffrey Treasure, Louis XIV (New York: Longman, 2001), 345-55; P. Burke, The Fabrication of Louis XIV (New Haven, 1992), 237-46. Gian Lorenzo Bernini, the Italian painter, sculptor, and architect, was the first artist to create a portrait bust for Louis. Prior to his arrival in France, Bernini had sPent almost his entire life working in Rome where he had become the Master of the Italian Baroque. Louis sent a personal invitation inviting Bernini to his court in 1665 when Bernini was 67 years old. At the time, Bernini was widely regarded the greatest living artist, and the King had certainly heard of his renown.7 Initially, Louis wished for Bernini to create the design for his new Louvre Palace. In fact, in his resPonse letter where Bernini accePts the King’s invitation to come to France, the artist claimed that he would design for Louis “buildings grander and more magnificent than the Palaces of the emperors and the PoPes”.8 Bernini, however, would never see this goal come to fruition, leaving behind only the bust of the King and a failed equestrian statue in France.9 Upon Bernini’s arrival in France, Louis XIV appointed a special guide, Paul Fréart, Sieur de Chantelou, to accompany him. Chantelou, who was a staunch suPPorter of Bernini, faithfully kept a diary that exists as a day-by-day account of events during the artist’s stay.10 From the beginning, Bernini set to work creating his design for the Louvre. His first Plan, with curves characteristic of the Roman 7 Paul Fréart de Chantelou, Journal du voyage du cavalier Bernin en France, edited by Anthony Blunt, translated by Margery Corbett (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1985), 34-37. Also see Artists in 17th Century Rome (exh. cat. by D. Mahon and D. Sutton, London, Wildenstein’s, 1955) and R. Wittkower, Gian Lorenzo Bernini: The Sculptor of the Roman Baroque (London, 1966). 8 Rudolf Wittkower, Bernini’s Bust of Louis XIV (London: Oxford University Press, 1991), 3. 9 Chantelou, Journal du voyage du cavalier bernin en France, 335-38. 10 Chantelou, Journal du voyage du cavalier Bernin en France, edited by Anthony Blunt, translated by Margery Corbett (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1985). High Baroque, was criticized by Colbert for its’ open arcades and flat roofs (Figure 1).11 The minister exPlained that these qualities would make the building unsuitable for the French winter. This initial plan would also designate the King’s chambers as the loudest Part of the Palace. Moreover, Colbert felt that this design would make the location Permissible to tresPassers. Abandoning this Plan, Bernini created a second design that he hoped would please the court. While the King was reportedly delighted, Colbert once again was a harsh critic. Then, his third attempt once again returned to intersecting concave and convex curves with the support of Corinthian columns (Figure 2). This Plan was inevitably rejected from the beginning for drifting too far from French classicism. Finally, his fourth design chose to encase the old buildings with his new one, retaining some of the original form (Figure 3). Colbert, however, exPressed new concerns, stating that the space in front of the Louvre would not be large enough to serve for battle exercises. Colbert and Bernini also argued over which buildings would be torn down and which would be kept for this new plan. As Bernini became increasingly more frustrated, he also began to exPerience feelings of jealousy and resentment from certain French architects for his consistently unsuitable designs.12 As Bernini worked at revising his Plan for the Louvre to suit the requirements of Colbert and the French court, the King commissioned his Portrait 11 Robert W. Berger, The Palace of the Sun: The Louvre of Louis XIV (University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1993), 146-48; J.