DOCUMENTATION | Exhibitions: 1648 - War and Peace in Europe |
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Essay Volumes > Tome II: Art and culture |
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HERMANN ARNHOLD / JEAN-MARC CHÂTELAIN
War, fame and the classical aesthetic: Les Triomphes de Louis le Juste by Jean Valdor (Paris, 1649) |
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The scholars and artists of the Renaissance, possessed with the rediscovery of classical antiquity and convinced of the incomparable independence of the Greco-Roman culture, often took the circuitous route to classical mythology for the glorification of contemporary heroic figures, be they princes, famous captains or women of consequence. The gallery of historically important personalities of the sixteenth and C to an even greater degree C the seventeenth century forms a new Mount Olympus, where the French King Francis I might appear as Mars or Hercules, while Catherine de Médicis and Queen Elizabeth I are likely to bear the features of Diana or Juno. In general the large number of gods and heroes of classical mythology provided abundant material for the praise of both the condottiere and the emperor. The recourse to mythological representation was sometimes quite successful C as in the Galerie Francis I or the Galerie d'Ulysse in the Castle of Fontainebleau C, other times met with rejection: Whereas the mythological genre as a form of personality cult by no means disappeared at the beginning of the seventeenth century, it was increasingly subjected to criticism. This was directed only toward mythology and not classical antiquity in general: Indeed, the dignity of history was set against the mythological genre. People pointed out the better suitability of the historical framework to represent the virtues of a significant personality, while it also provided convincing evidence that the corresponding virtues could be deduced from the existence of precisely this important personality.
During this period, Antoine de Laval Sully presented his plans for a gallery of historical paintings in the Louvre as a reaction to the mythological excesses of the Italian or Italian-influenced artists previously employed at Fontainebleau [1] and their work, thus anticipating the criticism Félibien would later direct toward Rubens. He accused Rubens of having mixed legend and history, mythological fiction and actual fact in the Galerie des Palais du Luxembourg. [2] As we know, Laval's plans were not approved; as we also know, the historical programme prescribed years later by Councillor of State LeBrun for the hall of mirrors at Versailles was realised, although the painter originally intended to laud the king's virtues in mythological depiction C a cycle of paintings devoted to the deeds of Hercules. [3] Thus there was a large palette to choose from in the seventeenth century. On the one hand there was the mythological approach: While it had to put up with accusations of triviality, it could look back on the significance and prestige of a long tradition and grandiose models. Above all, the mythologising practice possessed the advantage of being able to raise its exaltations to a level of universal validity [4] thanks to the allegorical nature of its figures. On the other hand there was historical representation, in which the apotheoses derived special power from being based exclusively on the truth of the events reported. ("Ornari res ipsa negat, contenta doceri," as Laval wrote [5].) The disadvantage of this choice was that it emphasised the fortuity of the events to which human history is subject.
Jean Valdor's idea for a posthumous glorification of Louis XIII in book form
Such were the theoretical circumstances accompanying the genre of hero laudation when, shortly after the death of Louis XIII, the copper engraver and graphic publisher Jean Valdor formed the idea of producing a large book which would retell the life and deeds of the dead king in poems and engravings. Thanks to a letter written by Valdor to the regent Anne d'Autriche requesting financial support for the project, we know what the book was originally supposed to look like. The idea was, "to illuminate all of the splendid acts, sieges and battles of the deceased king who will remain to us in glorious remembrance." [6] In the sketch accompanying Valdor's petition, the important events from the reign of Louis XIII are not once described by means of a mythological scene. Thus one can safely assume that, from its inception, the book was intended as an appreciation in the historical manner, a decision never questioned by Valdor. It is true that the illustrated book which finally appeared in 1649 included a few scattered figures derived from classical mythology: The title page shows a bust of Louis XIV as a child next to Hercules set against the landscape of the Parnassus; Neptune appears alongside Bellona in "La Défaite dans Riez" and alongside Aeolus in "Le Siège de La Rochelle," while Hercules is seen again in "La Prise de Nancy" and as an allegory of strength in "Le Pont de Cé" where he accompanies Prudentia. In other words, while the mythological deities were not banned entirely from the book, they do not occupy much of its space, and it cannot be maintained that they represent a challenge to the book's historical concept.
Between the first stage of the project and its publication in 1649, it underwent various changes, with regard not to the quality of the praise but to its quantity. Originally Valdor did not limit himself to the sovereign's war deeds. The list of commemorable incidents accompanying the request to Anne d'Autriche includes the royal inauguration and coronation, the king's festive entry into Bordeaux in 1615, his wedding and the succeeding celebrations, the appointment of new Knights of the Holy Spirit in 1620, etc. [7] These significant episodes from the king's civilian life no longer appeared in the publication of 1649, which was devoted exclusively to the king's war-related heroism: The title suggested in the letter to Anne d'Autriche was "La Vie de Louis XIII dit le Juste;" by 1649 it had become Les Triomphes de Louis le Juste. In the final version, the first ten years of the reign were left out entirely. Valdor adhered to a strict chronological order and began his work with a depiction of the military expedition of 1620, undertaken with the intention of regaining royal command of the city of Caen. Following tedious preparation work lasting "six whole years" if one believes Valdor's statements, [8] the book was undoubtedly published quite precipitately. The years of the Fronde had begun in the kingdom, and the unrest naturally threatened the continuation of this extremely expensive undertaking [9] C not to mention the fact that Valdor had sworn obedience to Mazarin, whose political situation had become exceedingly awkward by 1649. [10] There is nevertheless no indication that the peaceful events were left out because of the political circumstances. Since most of these incidents took place in the early phase of the reign, engravings depicting them would certainly have been completed before the others. It is more likely that the design of the book itself was modified: Valdor probably made a conscious decision to concentrate on the subject of war, whose realities would serve as a background for the ruler's transfiguration into a hero. This was not possible without a considerable amount of exaggeration, for the military life of Louis XIII C although eventful C was characterised more by promenades on horseback and short attacks than by decisive encounters and magnificent battles.
Jean Valdor, known as a copper engraver active in Paris in the mid-seventeenth century, was also an artist and businessman. A Fleming born in Liège in 1616, he most probably received initial training from his father, a copper engraver himself. In 1637 he went to Rome, [11] where he worked in the vicinity of Andrea Sacchi, the very environment in which the classical aesthetic of the Grand Siècle emerged under the aegis of the Barberini. Valdor left Rome in 1640 and by 1642 was once again working in Paris, where he entered upon a career which promised to be quite successful. Already in 1645, the king granted him one of the apartments maintained in the galleries of the Louvre for artists employed in the royal service. Valdor was also active in other areas: He worked not only as an engraver and graphic publisher but also traded in art to a considerable degree, taking advantage of his connections to Flanders for this purpose. At the same time he served the Prince Elector of Liège as a diplomatic agent. [12] While Valdor's privileged social position is a well-known fact, almost nothing can be said with certainty about his creative work. The little that is known about his oeuvre was reported by Mariette:
This Valdor passed himself off as a painter but did not paint; he began works and then had them carried out to completion by skilful persons who were devoted to him. He boasted of being a connoisseur, was probably a competent art dealer, as eloquent as Mitridate. [13]
Thus, according to Mariette, Valdor was nothing but a swindler and a charlatan whose only talent consisted in concealing his mediocrity with the help of his good connections to artistic circles and his broad knowledge of language. [14] Mariette's harsh judgement was aimed at Les Triomphes de Louis le Juste as well:
In 1649 he published the book "The Triumphs of Louis the Just," for the completion of which he hired various assistants, both draughtsmen and engravers; he wanted people to think, however, that the book was his work alone and he vaunted it in the presence of the powerful. According to everything that has come to my knowledge, he was an intriguer who spent his time doing all kinds of things, but not drawing. [15]
This late assessment C based on the statements of others, as Mariette himself underscored C must be taken with a grain of salt. Nevertheless, to anyone who examines the book published in 1649, no matter how cursorily, it is obvious that Les Triomphes de Louis le Juste was not the work of Jean Valdor alone. The most well-known of the "skilful assistants" employed by Valdor on this occasion is Stefano della Bella. His signature can be found in various places, and elsewhere his draughtsmanship and the firmness characteristic of his copper engravings are easily recognised. [16] The names of only a few other engravers turn up: Jean Marot, who signed the engraved image depicting the king's tomb; Gabriel Ladame, whose signature is to be found under an engraving of the 1639 conquest of the city of Hesdin; Louis Richler, who produced a topographic map appearing in the context of the Wolfenbüttels' subjugation by the Count of Guébriant in 1642; finally René Lochon, whose monogramme accompanies the portrait of the Cardinal of La Valette. Through close examination of the engravings contained in the book, the participation of other known artists has been determined: [17] Michel Natalis, Claude Goyrand and Samuel Bernard incontestably contributed to Les Triomphes de Louis le Juste, as well as C quite probably, but with somewhat less certainty C Israël Silvestre, Pierre Richer, Gilles Rousselet and Pierre Daret. [18] Yet whatever attributions can be made on their basis, examinations of the work have clearly proven that Les Triomphes de Louis le Juste was not the work of a single person. Not until this fact has been established is the real role played by Jean Valdor brought to light: He was the person who initiated the project, he was its inventor, and he was lord over something resembling a major construction site. The diverse provenance of the contributions occasionally leads to fluctuations in quality but has no effect on the stylistic uniformity, which Valdor himself apparently supervised.
The architecture of the book as a gallery and the monarchic ideology
The texts are also the work of different writers; in this case, however, the identity of each respective author is known with certainty. The introductions to Les Triomphes de Louis le Juste include five letters signed by Louis XIV, written between October 14, 1645 and May 3, 1648 and precisely naming the authors commissioned with the various texts: Corneille was to compose the epigrams on the victories, to be found at the lower edge of the engravings; [19] Charles Beys was commissioned with the "heroic verses" printed opposite the epigrams; Henri Estienne, "sieur des Fossés," wrote the devices corresponding to the portraits of famous personalities who assisted Louis XIII in his heroic war deeds; René Barry was the author of the historical segment, a biography of the king accompanying the maps engraved in copper and appearing at the back of the volume. The translations into Latin were carried out by P. Nicolai. The very choice of such pre-eminent authors is evidence of the high standard aspired to with the work. Corneille had reached the height of his fame, Beys enjoyed an excellent reputation among his contemporaries (and not merely the least significant of them: Scarron praised his talent wholeheartedly), Estienne published a book in 1645 entitled "L'Art de faire des devises," proving himself a master of this difficult form. [20] But what is most interesting is the distribution of roles in direct relationship to the structure of the volume. The three parts [21] are constructed like a sequence of galleries C the architecture of the gallery having become extremely fashionable just at this time. [22] Les Triomphes de Louis le Juste are introduced by a picture gallery of battles, accompanied by texts of Corneille and Beys and showing the king at the sites of his triumphs. [23] From there we enter a gallery of famous men, with devices by Henri Estienne appearing opposite each "naturally" conceived portrait. Finally we find ourselves in a gallery of maps providing topographic views of the battlefields. A different literary genre corresponds to each of these galleries: The depiction of military victories is enhanced by the vehemence and energy of heroic poetry ("its strength and boldness," "its splendour and dignity" as Mézeray expresses it in the introductions to the volume, in undisguised praise of Beys), the portrayal of persons by the subtle and sensitive style of the device, the description of the sites of action by the simplicity of the historical report. The entire spectrum of Cicero's stylistic doctrine (genus vehemens, genus medium, genus humile [24]) is represented here. Valdor's book possesses the firmness of a classical work of architecture: The sequence of galleries and the corresponding changes in literary style lend the book the strength and size attained in a building through the superimposition of architectural orders. This is accomplished with the help of congruencies and analogies (historical report and the Doric order, device and the Ionic order, heroic poetry and the Corinthian order).
This monumental aspect of the book's structure supplies merely the foundation for the well-thought-out staging of the king. The deceased king's transfiguration into a hero is then further pursued on two levels: One intention is to create a dwelling worthy of the king's portrait C therefore the palace-like architecture of the consecutive galleries. On the other hand the portrait is to bear the traits of a real, living person, for this is its primary means of arousing great admiration. The general structure of the book serves this second function by presenting the royal hero in his omnipotence and immortality, thus helping him to a kind of wondrous and absolute presence. The feeling of omnipresence is attained in particular through the large number of topographical views in the unchanging arena of the third gallery, an atlas of royal renown. The bringing together of the various theatres of war in a single room inevitably evokes the impression that the ruler is extant, as though he was now presiding over all the sites of his victories simultaneously, and as though the temporal sequence of the events was blurred by the reference to their geography. On the symbolic level, the narrative principle dominating the gallery produces the sense of omnipresence which literary scholars have identified as one of the primary conditions for the heroisation of supreme commanders in the seventeenth century. [25]
As regards the impression of immortality, it is produced chiefly by the organisation of the first gallery, where the various "days" of the royal victories are specified. This enumeration causes the "day" to appear as a fixed unit of time, like a time concentrate so intensive that it takes on the characteristics of eternity [26] C an eternity captured in a single instant. The structure of the first part thus corresponds precisely to the principle dogma of the monarchic religion, according to which C of all men C the king is the most perfect likeness of God. Incidentally, it is remarkable that the king's physiognomy remains unchanged from one picture of this gallery to the next: The face of the monarch is always the same; neither age nor military expeditions have the slightest influence on it. Only the gestures vary C the aspect of the sovereign's body which lends expression to his will, and not that which might betray passion. In the words of a eulogy to Louis XIV, the king abides "in the midst of various movements in an immovable fame" [27] and remains ever the same. Here Valdor's book merely adopts an age-old monarchic ideology. At the time of the book's conception, a period in which monarchic authority had been weakened, this ideology was unquestionably employed to reconfirm the legitimacy of god-given royal power.
The inalterability of the figure of the king is doubtless the most conspicuous feature of Valdor's book. This practice had been elevated to a principle, and resulted in a presentation of war which paradoxically avoids the description of military action itself. To be sure, the king is a heroic warrior, but he is never seen in the heat of the battle. This rule remains practically unbroken. "La Punition des villes rebelles" is one of the few engravings depicting the immediate reality of war: Fighting scenes and a city in flames can be discerned. Yet this action has been relegated to the background, while in the foreground the king, in commander pose, orders the attack. Whereas his escorts are seen marching, the king himself stands with both feet firmly on the ground, both arms stretched forward, his staff in his right hand. Here the king is apparently meant to be presented as a warrior, but at the same time his ceremonious pose would suggest more of a chastising than a fighting king, more an angry autocrat than the leader of his troops. As mentioned above, the engravings in Les Triomphes de Louis le Juste differ in kind and quality, but the differences are of a superficial nature. Behind them the primary intention, pursued with great consistency, becomes manifest: to produce an image of the king containing no other motion than the gesture of supremacy.
This intention stands out all the more when one compares the engravings with contemporary depictions of war, for example Rubens's painting of the Battle of Ivry, portraying Henri IV in the thick of the fight, [28] or the illustrations by Johann Wilhelm Baur for Pater Famiano Strada's book "De bello Belgico," depicting the clashing of armies with much movement and violence. A comparison of the engravings in Valdor's book with their accompanying texts is likewise quite instructive. Right at the beginning of the series of victories, Beys takes recourse to somewhat noisy rhetoric in order to convey the heroicism displayed by Louis XIII during the Caen expedition:
Ne pouvant plus tenir sa vaillance cachée,
Il reconnoist le fort, visite la tranchée,
Et la vertu l'expose au tonnant appareil
Comme un aiglon s'esprouve à l'esclat du soleil. [29]
In contrast, the engraving "Le reddition de Caen" reveals nothing of this heroic demeanour. In the middle of a clearly interpretable scene depicting the royal troops to the left (identified by vertical movement C standing figures, raised lances, trees in the background) and the defeated on their knees to the right, the king strides majestically ahead. The effusiveness of the word is offset by the conscious restraint of the image. There is a similarly striking contrast between the engraving "La Réduction de Saint-Jean d'Angély," capturing Louis XIII in a gesture of appeasement and generosity directed toward Soubise C who lies at the monarch's feet, his face veiled C and the violence imparted by Beys' poem:
Arming himself to attack two ferocious furies
Here he erects altars, there he arranges troops,
Bravery and piety are one in him,
Here he takes vows, there he bears weapons,
There he sheds blood, here tears . . .
Where his appearance alone does not ban the rebels,
He raises up his own with new strength:
Saltpetre and fire, when they clash,
Open an aisle for themselves and the soldiers.
The noblemen, beholding the tragic ruins,
Like an entryway, leading to magnificent splendour
Fighting on adroitly through narrow passageways
Subdue the enemy ranks;
The entrenchments become their leaders' graves.
And finally with the walls their courage sinks. [30]
There is no room for these acts of violence on the engravings: On the contrary, the images are devoted to the depiction of power without military action, the military superiority of the king, but not war itself.
The "non-depiction" of war and the aesthetic of Atticism
This paradox is generated by the classical aesthetic or, to express it in another way, by "Atticism," a term coined by Jacques Thuillier [31] and since then commonly applied to that distinct, severe style "citing both antiquity and discipline" [32] which emerged in Paris in the 1640s and reached its peak shortly before the Fronde. Despite its flaws, Valdor's book is the most significant and ambitious publication produced by the Parisian "Atticism" of the mid-seventeenth century. References to antiquity can be found on every page. The figures are inevitably clothed in Roman costumes; the landscapes are usually arranged by means of classical edifices, pyramids, temples or rows of columns, the classical orders skilfully varied so as to conform to the respective scene. In the engraving "La Protection de Mantoue," for example, the little prince of Mantua moves away from a row of Doric columns and places himself under the protection of Louis XIII, who stands before a row of Corinthian columns symbolising his power. Engravings in which the king demonstrates his magnanimity and gentleness are dominated by the Ionic order ("La Paix d'Alès," "La Protection de Portugal et de Catalogne"). Moreover, a remarkable degree of emphasis has been placed on archaeological details; the soldiers' helmets, the tents of their camps are illustrated with great precision. Quite obviously, the reproduction of these details is informed by thorough knowledge of antiquity.
The transposition of the life of Louis XIII into a setting of classical antiquity proves that the historical form of exaltation, as employed in Valdor's book, in no way corresponds to a realistic rendering of the events. On the contrary, what we see here is a view of historical reality which, by idealising that reality, bestows a kind of moral truth upon the king's history; pure realism would have been satisfied with the axiological neutrality of the historical report. The elements derived from antiquity thus serve this moral "examination;" they incorporate the king into the moral community of classical heroes. This community, in comparison to that of the mythological deities, has the advantage that the values it is intended to convey are historically attestable. One is reminded of what Pellisson wrote in his "Projet de l'histoire de Louis XIV" in 1670:
History leaves unnoticed many of the circumstances reported in newspapers or memoirs . . . . To everything great which it encounters, it lends beauty with its noble, well-crafted style, capable of saying much in little space, no sentence is superfluous . . . . If all of this is not combined and united in a vivid image, full of variety, power, splendour, more painted than told, if the readers do not envision and are not enthralled by all that has been put to paper, and if their interest in the events is not thus aroused, then it is not history they are reading, but a register or chronicle at the very most. [33]
Valdor imparts "history" as defined by Pellisson. The work's primary task is not to reproduce reality, but to put it in a favourable light, to make it vivid ("more painted than told"). This is the chief function of antiquity in the depiction of landscapes and people in Les Triomphes de Louis le Juste. It arises neither from insufficient knowledge nor disregard of history, but makes history more understandable by means of exaggeration, "arouses the reader's interest." Because actual contemporary military events are concealed, the memory of antiquity sets the imagination astir without allowing it completely free rein (an impression more likely to be caused by the mythological than the antique "veil"). On the contrary, here the energy is released which, in the words of Pascal, "gives things their worth." The reversion to classical antiquity can by no means be equated with pure academicism, which repeats the same prescribed formula over and over again. Here the power of imagination is at work in a positive and well-considered manner; it transforms the facts into history, or better: It perfects the facts.
The decision in favour of classicism, evident everywhere in Valdor's book, not only gives the work an antique cast, but also ushers in a specific representational form, namely the frieze. This choice of form lends the gallery of battles a severity wholly consistent with the heroic material of its contents. In many engravings the severity becomes rigidity, as in the illustration of the siege of Perpignan, the final engraving of the series. Here the "discipline of antiquity" reaches a climax: Ludwig XIII and Minerva, parading on horseback past the city's fortifications, resemble two equestrian statues erected precisely parallel to one another. The parallelism of the figures as well as the unicolour surface of the wall, the only ornamentation, imply the intention to design the scene in the manner of a relief. The artist has attempted to obtain the effect of perspective by imitating the art of plasticity otherwise in the domain of the sculptor. According to this train of thought, the prerequisite for the classical aesthetic is the recognition of the art of sculpture as the model for figurative art. What is more, sculpture was regarded as the art of capturing form, as can be seen quite clearly in the equestrian statue of the king in the Perpignan scene. A short time earlier, at the beginning of 1620, Francesco Mochi had created an equestrian figure of Alexander Farnese in which he managed to solve the difficult problem of the unity between horse and rider by apprehending the two in the same turning movement. [34] The artist who drew the siege of Perpignan attained the same degree of unity by wholly different means, i.e. by banning any and all movement from the picture's surface. Thanks to the precisely vertical fold in the royal cloak, horse and rider persist in the same rigid pose: The cloak falling parallel to the horse's legs lends the figure a wonderful cadence, a rhythm both powerful and C in the musical sense C solemn.
Not all of the engravings are infused with such a degree of ceremoniousness, nor do all of them evoke the same impression of hieratic immobility. Yet it is never the king but other persons who serve to express the passions inspired by his very sight, while he himself remains inaccessible to emotion. In Nancy, for example, Louis XIII is depicted standing before two women who kneel C or, more precisely, lie C at his feet. The one raises her head humbly toward the king, her gaze full of reverence as she hands him the key to the city; the other casts her eyes downward, beating her breast with her right hand in a gesture of shame and remorse.
The preference for the frieze as a form of representation and the accompanying desire to give passion stronger expression are reminiscent of the doctrine of Poussin. There is an obvious ideational connection between the better engravings in Les Triomphes de Louis le Juste and paintings by Poussin such as "La Vierge apparaissant à saint Jacques le Majeur" (Rome, ca. 1630) or "Le Miracle de saint François-Xavier" (Paris, Chapel of the Jesuit Novitiate, 1642). In more than one respect, the composition of the engravings in Les Triomphes de Louis le Juste addressed questions posed during the same period in Rome and Paris by the work of Poussin: the symbolism of gesture in painting, the decorum which determines the bearing of the Christian hero in an ideal manner, the expression of the passions of those who do not exhibit this decorum, the challenge of juxtaposing these two contradictory elements (heroic decorum and human passion) in the harmonious unity of the picture. One possible solution to this problem is offered by the frieze. [35] Incidentally, it is not certain what role was played by the painter Charles Errard C who was closely associated with Poussin C in Les Triomphes de Louis le Juste. Odile Uhlmann-Faliu put forth the hypothesis that Errard may have collaborated on Valdor's book. The figures of Louis XIII and Religion in "Le Rétablissement des ecclésiastiques en Béarn" as well as the Casal engraving could be attributed to Errard, and it is possible that he also collaborated on other engravings. But since so little is known about Errard's work and the engravings in Valdor's book vary so much in quality, one must be quite careful about making assumptions. The most important of Errard's preserved works which is certain evidence of his style in the 1640s is the illustration for the Brevarium Romanum, published in 1647 by the royal printing press. [36] Even here, however, we are not familiar with the original drawings but only with the engravings made on their basis by Pierre Daret, Gilles Rousselet and Karl Audran, who are certain to have deviated from the originals to some extent. Nevertheless there are similarities between figures appearing in the Brevarium Romanum and in Les Triomphes de Louis le Juste, for example between Soubise in "La Réduction de Saint-Jean d'Angély" and the sleeping Roman soldier in the foreground of the Brevarium Resurrection scene. [37] Moreover, it has been possible to establish various characteristics typical of the engravings of Errard C the pronounced muscular apparatus of the bodies, a preference for faces in profile and a predilection for endowing the figures with "similarity to antique sculpture." [38] While this is a rather limited basis for conjecture, it does seem remarkable that the same characteristics are found in many of the engravings of the first gallery of Les Triomphes de Louis le Juste. Nothing of what we know about Errard's biography would make his participation in the project impossible, nor, however, is there anything to prove it: Following his first stay in Rome, where like Valdor he was loosely associated with Andrea Sacchi, Errard returned to Paris in 1643, the very point in time at which Valdor began to think about his book project. Another circumstance has come to our attention which, although it is no real proof, would seem to be more than pure coincidence: As we are informed by the chronicler of the Académie de peinture et de sculpture Guillet de Saint-Georges, Errard C having returned to France C worked "on drawings intended for tapestries and depicting the story of Tobias." [39] During this very time, Valdor was quite active in the trade of tapestries. Guillet de Saint-Georges is again the source imparting to us that, after Le Brun had returned from Rome to Paris in 1646, Valdor commissioned him to make drawings for tapestries "on the subject of Tobias." [40] All in all, these various bits of information allow us to conclude that Errard most probably worked for Valdor following his return from Rome, and it is possible that this collaboration was not limited to tapestries.
However great the degree of Charles Errard's participation may have been, Les Triomphes de Louis le Juste can be regarded as a significant example of the classical art of the mid-seventeenth century, and provides valuable evidence of the ideological possibilities provided by classicism for the glorification of the monarchy in times of war. This task demanded a well-considered alchemy capable of utilising the reality of war as a basis, in order to avoid the depiction of war all the more successfully. Valdor chose the register of historical exaltation, but nearly nothing is recorded of actual historical events: He was solely interested in the gestures and poses occasioned by the events, for they were to serve his goal of producing a kind of purified and peaceful retrospective in which historical fact disappears behind its various symbols. The royal gestures and poses appear in relief, all others in three dimensions. They are the symbols of a monarchic heroism arising not from military action itself, but becoming manifest through the occurrence of war. The symbols of justice C the king's gestures range from punishment to benevolence C take the place of the history of war. [41] The war does not constitute the king's glory, but provides the occasion for giving that glory expression, a glory which in its very essence belongs to a superhuman dimension. In this way history was able to attain the general validity and legitimacy it sometimes seemed to lack when the intention was to glorify the greatness of the Most Christian king, God's most perfect likeness.
FOOTNOTES
1. The significance of this project has been pointed out several times since its discovery by art historians some twenty years ago. See Bardon 1974, pp. 77-80 and 189-192; Thuillier 1975, pp. 175-205; Sabatier 1986.
2. Châtelain 1992, esp. pp. 458f.
3. Boyer 1985, p. 294.
4. In the name of this allegorical power, the mythological form of expression could be defended against the accusation of lack of morality, to which it was subjected at the time of the Council of Trent, as shown by Szenec 1980, pp. 229-245.
5. Laval 1605, p. 13.
6. Letter from Jean Valdor to Anne d'Autriche, undated, published by Chennevières 1852, p. 227.
7. Chennevières 1852, pp. 228ff.
8. Valdor 1649, foreword. There is no reason to doubt this claim; one can only remark that the mention of this span of time, which corresponds to the length of time required to complete a building, is meant to indicate that the book is constructed like a monument.
9. In his petition to Anne d'Autriche, Jean Valdor asked for no less than "quatre cents escus par ans durant le temps qu'il travaillera à cest ouvrage" (four hundred taler per year as long as he worked on the book). Chennevières 1852, p. 227.
10. In the tribute Valdor paid to Mazarin in Les Triomphes de Louis le Juste, Valdor hinted at the cardinal's political stance: On the engraving depicting the Casal affair of 1630, Mazarin is presented as a Roman aristocrat reconciling France and Spain and driving out Discord (in the background). With this unexpected reconciliation, occurring at a point in time when the two powers were ready to go to war, Mazarin accomplished a brilliant act of diplomacy which brought about a decisive turning point in his career. See Couton 1951, p. 20.
11. Uhlmann-Faliu 1978, pp. 9-12.
12. Valdor was involved in large-scale tapestry importation from Flanders to France. For details on his activities as a merchant and diplomat, see Uhlmann-Faliu 1978, pp. 15ff. and 67-79.
13. Mariette 1857f., p. 45.
14. The expression "faire valoir son Mitridate" used by Mariette really does refer to Valdor's good knowledge of foreign languages and not to an obscure knowledge of poisons and antidotes as maintained in a beautifully written but unfortunately false explanation by Blunt 1978, p. 161. Mithridate's name was used a symbol of multilinguality in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, particularly for the famous book Gesner 1555.
15. Mariette 1857f., p. 356
16. Regarding Della Bella's participation, s. Blunt 1978, pp. 160f. and Vesme 1906, No. 952-957 and 1136-1140. The catalogue of Della Bella's works drawn up by Vesme was inspectetd by S. Massar (New York 1971) but the passages on Valdor's book remained unchanged. In one respect, however, they stand to be corrected: As opposed to the information contained in Vesme, the frieze by Della Bella does not appear repeatedly in all the introductory parts of the book (No. 952 and 953). In several carefully executed copies (e.g. Rés. Fol. Lb [36].34 alpha and Est. Ie. F in-fol., in storage in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France) this frieze was used only once and later replaced by the frieze described by Vesme under Nos. 989 and 990 independently of Les Triomphes de Louis le Juste.
17. These attributions are based on notes left behind by Mariette as well as on studies by Odile Uhlmann-Faliu. Hollstein-B, XXXIII is of no help here as he carefully avoided distinguishing between Valdor's own and others' work, "in order not to overcomplicate questions of attribution" as he so succinctly expresses it in his introduction.
18. See Uhlmann-Faliu 1978, pp. 55-58 as well as the detailed listing of the engravings in Les Triomphes de Louis le Juste on pp. 127-158.
19. The official commission of Corneille was issued on October 14, 1645 in the form reprinted at the beginning of Les Triomphes de Louis le Juste. Possibly a printing error was made: In the Bibliothèque Nationale de France is a contemporary copy of this letter bearing the date October 4, 1644 (B.N.F., Ms, fr. 6643, f. 124).
20. In his Entretiens d'Ariste et d'Eugène of 1671, dedicated to the art of the device, Bonhour repeatedly refers to Estienne as a master of this form. This assessment refutes the opinion of Couton 1951, who applied to the 1640s the criteria of a literary history that emerged much later, and designated the various authors of Les Triomphes de Louis le Juste C with the exception of Corneille C as inferior.
21. Not two, as Bardon 1974, p. 150 writes. In addition, the various parts are distinguished from one another by their respective pagination.
22. See Mérot 1994, pp. 38ff.; Sabatier 1986.
23. The engraving of the Casal affair represents the only exception: Here the king is not included, as he was not present at the occasion.
24. See Fumaroli 1980, pp. 54f.
25. See Morel 1966, pp. 5-11.
26. As early as 1619, Théophile de Viau wrote in his ode to Maurice de Nassau: "Et c'est ainsi que tes journées, / Comme on les conte pour un Dieu, / Valent autant que des années." (Your days, like those of gods, are worth years) Quoted in Morel 1966, p. 7.
27. Saint-Yriex 1682, p. 4.
28. Henry IV in the Battle of Ivry, Florence, Uffizi. This is one of the paintings originally intended to form the Galerie Henri IV in the Palais du Luxembourg as a counterpart to the Galerie Marie de Médicis. Rubens began working on this project in 1627, but political circumstances forced Marie de Médici to leave France in 1631 and the gallery was never completed. See Jost 1964.
29. He can no longer conceal his bravery, / He reconnoitres a fort, inspects the trenches, / And virtuously exposes himself to the thundering machines of war / As the eagle faces the brilliance of the sun.
30 "Icy pour attaquer deux cruelles furies, / Il dresse des autels, et là des batteries, / Et mesle sa vaillance à sa dévotion, / Pour vaincre l'heresie et la sédition, / Il fait icy des voeux, il porte là ses armes, / Il répand là du sang, il jette icy des larmes [...] / Si son premier aspect n'abbat point les rebelles, / Il releve les siens par des forces nouvelles: / Le salpestre et le feu, pressez en des lieux bas, / Pour s'ouvrir un passage, en font un aux soldats. / La noblesse qui voit ces ruines tragiques, / Comme une entrée ouverte aux pompes magnifiques, / Par des chemins estroits, d'un effort rude et prompt / Force les ennemis qui combattent de front; / Leurs chefs dans les ramparts, trouvent leurs funerailles, / Et leur courage enfin, tombe avec les murailles ."
31. Thuillier 1992, II, pp. 63-69.
32. Thuillier 1992, p. 66
33. Quoted in Marin 1981, pp. 50f. "L'histoire passe beaucoup de circonstances que le journal et les mémoires rapportent [...]. Tout ce qu'elle rencontre de grand, elle le met dans un plus beau jour par un style plus noble, plus composé, qui renferme beaucoup en peu d'espace, et où il n'y a point de paroles perdues [...]. Si l'on ne sait fondre et allier tout cela ensemble en un corps solide, plein de variété, de force et d'eclat, peindre plutôt que raconter, faire voir à l'imagination tout ce qu'on met sur le papier, attacher par là les lecteurs et les intéresser à ce qui se passe, ce n'est plus histoire; c'est registre ou chronique tout au plus."
34. Wittkower 1986. The statue of Mochi is in Plaisance on the Piazza Cavalli.
35. Regarding these theoretical questions, connected with both painting and rhetoric, see Fumaroli 1994.
36. Thuillier 1978, p. 160.
37. Odile Uhlmann-Faliu assumes that the engravings "La Réductioin de Saint Jean d'Angély," "Caen," "Ponts de Cé," "La Punition des villes rebelles," "La Rochelle," "Pas-de-Suze," "La Protection de Mantoue," "La Paix d'Alès," "La Reprise de Corbie," and "La Protection de Portugal et de Catalogne" were all the work of the same draughtsman C Valdor himself.
38. Boyer/Brejon de Lavergnée 1980, p. 234.
39. Saint-Georges 1854, p. 75.
40. Saint-Georges 1854a, p. 8: "Dès qu'il fut arrivé à Paris, il se vit recherché pour plusieurs ouvrages. . . . Il fit plusieurs dessins qui ont été exécutés en tapisseries pour M. Valdor, qui étoit résident auprès du roi pour Mgr l'éveque de Liège, quelques-uns de ces dessins étoient sur le sujet de Tobie; et quelques autres sur le sujet de David et d'Abigail."
41. Regarding the significance of this interchange in classical art, see Marin 1981, pp. 7-46.
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