"He is the king... he plays the difficult game of leading men." Taken from Anouilh's Antigone, this quote, which adorns the entrance staircase of the Petite Galerie, sets the tone for the exhibition: theatre and power are one.
For its third season, the exhibition at the Petite Galerie of the Louvre Museum shows the link between art and political power.
The space dedicated to artistic and cultural education invites the "visitor-spectator" to discover the highly codified repertoire of the Theatre of Power from Antiquity to the present day.
The works from the collections of the Louvre Museum and the National Museum of the Palaces of Versailles and Trianon, the National Museum of the Palace of Pau and the Petit Palais, Museum of Fine Arts of the City of Paris, illustrate here the evolution of the codes of representation of political power.
Art and power are intimately linked, and their complicity leaves its mark on every era. To govern is to put oneself on display to establish one's authority, legitimacy, and prestige. It also means creating images to fuel one's own legend. Art, in the service of patrons, thus becomes an instrument of propaganda. But it can also be rebellious and shake up the established order.
Art in the service of patrons then becomes an instrument of propaganda.
Power is also a matter of staging; sovereigns are not easily visible in an era without cameras, cell phones, and paparazzi. Painters, sculptors, and engravers are therefore assigned the role of architects of the sovereign's figure.
The figures of the prince inspire the tragic heroes of classical theater, which contrast them with symbols of counter-power. The tour is divided into several stages through this rich exhibition exploring the links between power and art, from antiquity to the present day.
In the first room you can discover: "The figures of the prince", they present the different functions of the king, the priest-king, the builder-king or even the protective war king which allow to evoke the different artistic techniques.
It includes Louis XIII, known as "the Just", son of Henri IV and Marie de Médicis, born on September 27, 1601 at the Château de Fontainebleau and died on May 14, 1643 at the Château Neuf de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, was King of France and Navarre from 1610 to 1643.
The Triad of Osorkon II, made famous by the splendid statuette ofor et lapis lazuli, called the “Osorkon II triad” can be admired for all the light it gives off.
It represents the god in the center Osiris crouching on a pillar-base; to his left, standing and making a protective gesture with his hand, Isis ; on the other side and with the symmetrical gesture, their son Horus. An inscription includes the title of the king and the words of Osiris granting him his blessings.
The second room, entitled "Persuade to Legitimize Power," focuses more on the emblematic figure of Henry IV, both a king in search of legitimacy and a model for the heirs of the Bourbons, from Louis XVI to the Restoration, with magnificent sculptures by Barthélémy Prieur and François-Joseph Bosio, and sumptuous paintings by Pourbus the Younger, Ingres, etc.
The third room represents "The Antique Model" around the theme of the equestrian statue, of which the Louvre notably has several remarkable examples, including the leaves of the Barberini Ivory and the bronze of Charles the Bald.
The last room also presents "The Insignia of Power", majestic portraits of monarchs are exhibited there such as that of Louis XVI by Callet, Napoleon I by Gérard, Louis Philippe by Winterhalter, near the regalia, objects of the coronation of the kings of France.
To make it easier to approach the permanent collections, the museum's management offers five tours (royal power in the ancient Orient, the pharaoh of Egypt, the emperors of Rome, art and power in Islamic lands and the king, master of the arts) whose themes are already covered in its Petite Galerie.
We thus see the great actors of History succeed one another: Caesar, Louis XIV, Henry IV, Napoleon...
Tours through the permanent collections of the Louvre Museum, meeting figures of power in the ancient Orient, the Egyptian world, the Roman Empire, in Islamic lands or in 17th century France, extend the reflection.
"To govern is to make others believe," said Machiavelli. The Power exhibition awaits you at the Louvre Museum until July 2, 2018.
Bouchra
