Large Louis style. Grand style, Louis XIV style

The presentation was made for the lesson "Classicism" at the rate of Emokhonova (MHK grade 11). But you can use this material in the lessons of General History and in additional education. Contains a large number of illustrations. Aimed at middle and high school students. For several years it has been successfully used by the author in the classroom.

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Classicism: The art of classicism, large royal style Louis XIV Lesson plan What is classicism? What is big royal style? Leading architects of French classicism The Sun King as a work of art Artists of French classicism The entire seventeenth century ... Conclusions ... Let's check ourselves? The presentation was made by the teacher MHK GBOU School 1164 Geraskina E.V. Moscow

Classicism - the second style system of the 17th century As a style, classicism arose in England and Holland (countries where the first bourgeois revolutions took place). But classicism acquires a special sound in France. The result of a cruel, bloody struggle against feudal separatism for centralized power was the victory of absolutism. Fanatical religiosity is replaced by "faith without excesses", which predetermined all the further development of culture.

The demands of absolutism on art... The new ideals of statehood demanded from art such forms that would be associated with the greatness of the rulers of the ancient Greeks and Romans. However, strict (rational) English classicism seemed not pompous enough to glorify Louis XIV - the "Sun King". Therefore, French architects and artists turn to the whimsical, sophisticated forms of the Italian Baroque.

"Great royal style" The main difference: it combines the rigor of classical forms in architecture and gardening art with the pomposity of the Baroque in interior decoration. Most vividly implemented: Versailles (1624-1687) - the favorite country residence of King Louis XIV.

Versailles Louis Le Vaux (1612-1670) The old hunting palace of Louis XIII was enlarged and In the traditions of classicism, its central axis was highlighted by the front and garden portals. On three radial avenues from the side of the eastern main entrance, they came to the palace from Paris, Saint-Cloud and So powers of the world this. The court culture of the Versailles period loved such nuances, and the ensemble of Versailles was used as a theatrical scenery in order to magnificently glorify the monarch.

Versailles Jules Hardouin-Mansart (1646-1708) The palace was enlarged by additions. The mirror gallery connected the state rooms of the king and queen and formed a park facade. The park façade gave Versailles a classic austerity: the predominance of horizontal lines, a single flat roof, the correspondence of the external dimensions of the building to the size of the internal chambers.

Versailles of the gardener-planner Andre Le Nôtre (1613-1700) "PARK IS THE COURT GREAT ARCHITECTURE" Features of one of the first regular parks: both sides. 4. Mandatory elements of the park - grassy lawns and flower beds. 5. Large canal, huge flat reservoirs 6. Trimmed yew trellises, beam alleys and distant prospects. 7. To entertain a huge number of guests.

Flat reservoirs serve as giant mirrors that duplicate space. Beam alleys visually expand it to infinity. The axial alley, starting from the park facade of the palace and turning into the Grand Canal, creates the impression of boundless depth and exceptional grandeur of the park, expressing the idea of ​​inaccessibility royal person. The central alley leaving the palace in the western direction “absorbs” other alleys and “flows” into the Grand Canal, as if to let all the forests, fields and waters of the country into in due course could appear before the master.

Rituals of the “Lord of Nature” On a winter day, the king went out with his retinue to the park, and it turned out that the floral parterres were fragrant with fresh flowers (which is why all the flowers in Versailles were planted in pots so it was more convenient to replace faded ones), It turned out that the presence of the “sun king” revives plants. Louis XIV personally planted his favorite carnations, jonquil daffodils, tuberoses in flowerpots, which court flatterers replaced with flowering ones, assuring that his magical influence on nature allows the planted plant to develop in a day.

Louis XIV - the sun-king and Apollo ... The solar symbolism served the same purpose, linking the image of the "sun-king" of Louis XIV with the sun god Apollo. Already in itself, the regular layout of the garden reflects the idea of ​​the cyclic nature of nature, the life of which is given by the sun. Beam alleys are associated with sunbeams. All garden-fountain sculptures of Versailles are also subject to the mythology of the sun. The fountain of Apollo at the base of the Grand Canal represents the sun god emerging from the sea on a quadriga, accompanied by dolphins and newts blowing their shells. The sun is reminiscent of allegorical statues of the seasons, days, characters of ancient mythology associated with Apollo, such as the huntress Diana, his sister, or the young man Hyacinth, turned by Apollo into a flower.

symbolism of the palace The symbolism of the palace, which occupies a central place in the palace and park ensemble of Versailles, all its living quarters bore the imprint of "rituality". The main "shrine" of the palace - the king's bedroom - was located on the central east-west axis and was turned with windows to the side rising sun. Following the sun, the “sun king” moved to the ceremonial halls dedicated to the ancient gods Apollo, Venus, and Mars. The events of the day culminated in the Gallery of Mirrors, where ceremonies for the introduction of noble persons to the king took place, designed as a magnificent theatrical performance in which the king himself played the first violin.

Features of the interior decoration of Versailles: The theme of the sun-Apollo prevailed, as a reminder of the exclusivity of Louis XIV. Huge wall-to-wall tapestries-verdure (from the French Verdure - green) depicting landscapes and hunting scenes duplicated the life of the royal court. Picturesque plafonds, telling about the deeds and adventures of the gods, hinted at the leisure of the omnipotent ruler. Large mirrors, which reflected the park ensemble, caused the illusion of an endless space, where the "king-sun" reigns. Sculpture, likened to antique, bronze, multi-colored marble floors and walls, precious furniture inlaid with tortoiseshell and mother-of-pearl - all this luxury removed the habitat as much as possible from the prose of life.

XVII century for world culture 1. One of the most significant periods in the history of culture. 2. Following the Renaissance and preceding the Enlightenment, he inherited much from the first and anticipated the discoveries of the second. Main feature era - the simultaneous development of two leading style systems - baroque and classicism, in the presence of a significant artistic concept of the century - realism

Significance of 17th century culture: For the first time, art transcended the boundaries of one large, established style in architecture, as it was in previous times. Baroque created an art full of movement, energy, passions. He was possessed by impulses towards the infinite, the beyond, the affected. Classicism of the 17th century opposed the elemental dynamics of the Baroque with the ideal of balance, regularity, and rationalism.

The Meaning of 17th-Century Culture (2): 17th-century Realism, which emerged as a reaction to the complexity and abstraction of the degenerated art of late Mannerism, created images in which inner world a person and his emotional environment were measured by the scale not so much of everyday life as of eternity. In the 17th century national European cultures, while maintaining local specifics, have reached such high level community, which made it possible to talk about the formation of a unified world artistic culture of the century.

Questions and tasks 1. What features testify to the "garden life" of French classicism? To answer, use the illustrations from task number 17 in the workbook. 2. Complete task number 18 in the workbook. 3. Complete the final task for the section "Artistic culture of the 17th century" in the workbook. 4. Project activity. Find the features of baroque aesthetics in the surrounding reality. How does it manifest itself in architecture, decor, theatrical performances, clothes, accessories, human types? Determine the differences in the garden and park architecture of baroque and classicism in your city, regional center, suburban estates of St. Petersburg and Western Europe.

big style- (French "Grand maniere", Le style Louis Quatorze) - the artistic style of one of the brightest periods in the history of France, the "golden age" of French art in the second half of the 17th century.

Associated with the years of the reign of King Louis XIV (1643-1715), hence the name. This style combined elements of Classicism and Baroque. With its figurative structure, “Grand Style” expressed the ideas of the triumph of strong, absolute royal power, national unity, wealth and prosperity, hence its epithet “ Le Grand».

In 1643, the five-year-old heir to the throne was at the head of France Louis XIV, his mother, Queen Anne of Austria, became regent. The policy was determined by the first minister, the all-powerful Cardinal Mazarin. Despite the hatred of the people for the Italian cardinal and dislike for the “Austrian queen”, the idea of ​​the need for strong absolute power as an indispensable condition for the development of the French nation and the unification of the country rallied around the throne the advanced minds of that time - politicians, nobility, writers and artists. In 1655, the young king, at a meeting of parliament, uttered the famous phrase: “ L "Etat, c" est my!" ("The State, it's me!"). And the courtiers, not without flattery, of course, called him " Roi Soleil- "King-Sun" (which always shines over France). Finance Minister of the Sun King J.-B. Colbert"supervised" the development of architecture, the activities of the Academies. In 1663, Colbert organized " Academy of inscriptions, especially for writing inscriptions for monuments and medals glorifying the king. Art was declared a state affair. Artists were given direct instructions to glorify unlimited royal power, regardless of means.

Aesthetic ideals

The new ideals of absolutism were supposed to reflect the "Great Style". They could only be Classicism associated with the greatness of the ancient Greeks and Romans: the French king was compared to Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great. But strict and rational Classicism did not seem pompous enough to express the triumph of absolute monarchy. In Italy at that time style dominated Baroque. Therefore, it is natural that the artists of France turned to the forms of modern Italian Baroque. But in France, the Baroque could not grow as powerfully as in Italy from the architecture of Classicism.

Since the era French Renaissance 16th century in this country, the ideals of Classicism were established, the influence of which on the development of art did not weaken until the end of the 19th century. This is the main feature of the "French style". In addition, the classic forms took root on a basis other than in Italy, on the basis of strong national traditions of Romanesque and Gothic art. This explains why only certain elements were borrowed from the Italian Baroque, and the ideas of Classicism remained the main formative principles of the art of the era of Louis XIV. So, in the design of the facades of buildings, a strict classicist order design of the wall was preserved, but baroque elements were present in the details of interior design, tapestries, and furniture.

The influence of state ideology was so great that it was from that time on that certain stages in the development of art in France began to be designated by the names of kings: the style of Louis XIV, the style of Louis XV, the style of Louis XVI. The custom of such a name was later turned back, to the time before the reign of Louis XIV. Other the most important feature era was that it was in France in the second half of the 17th century that the very concept of artistic style. Prior to that, in Italy, the ideas of Classicism, just starting to take shape, were immediately pushed aside by Mannerism and Baroque.

Classicism as an artistic trend took shape in France, and since then, not Rome, but Paris began to dictate fashion in art, and its role did not weaken over the subsequent 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. For the first time in history, in France of the era of Louis XIV, style began to be recognized as the most important category of art, aesthetics, became the norm of life, life and customs, penetrating all aspects of court etiquette (a word that also appeared at the court of Louis XIV). Along with the awareness of style comes the aestheticization of individual formal elements, the cultivation of taste, the “sense of detail”. This feature has become a tradition that has created over several decades a special “sense of form”, a plastic culture, a subtlety of thinking inherent in the French school. But this culture was not easy to develop. Initially, the Renaissance ideal of a holistic, static, self-balanced form (somewhat shattered by the art of Mannerism and Baroque) was replaced by the idea of ​​aestheticizing “random charms” and individual means of achieving beauty: line, paint, material texture. Instead of the category of composition (compositio), put forward by the Italian architect and theorist L. B. Alberti, the concept of “mixed connection” (lat. mixtum compositura) is introduced. The beginning of such fragmentation was laid by the Italian mannerist artists who worked at the court of Francis I, and then Henry II at the Fontainebleau school. Their French students, who worked in the count and royal castles along the river. The Loire and in Paris itself, gradually formed an aristocratic culture of form, which later shone in the Rococo style of the 18th century, but it brought its first fruits in the 17th century. “Perhaps the influence of French art on the life of the upper strata of European society, including Russian society, was stronger in the 18th century, but the foundations of the supremacy of the French language, manners, fashion, and pleasures were undoubtedly laid by the time of the Sun King.

It is no coincidence that the second half of the 17th century is called "the most brilliant period French history". The most common words often repeated in memoirs and aesthetic treatises of that time are: great, majesty, luxurious, festive... Probably, the splendor of the style of court art really created the impression of an "eternal celebration of life." According to the famous memoirist Madame de Sevigne, the court of Louis XIV was all the time “in a state of pleasure and art” ... The king “always listens to some music, very pleasant. He talks with ladies who are accustomed to this honor ... The festivities continue every day and midnight. In the "brilliant seventeenth century" style, etiquette, manner became a real mania. Hence the fashion for mirrors and memoirs. People wanted to see themselves from the outside, to become spectators of their own poses. The flourishing of the art of the court portrait was not long in coming. The luxury of palace receptions amazed the envoys of European courts.

In the Grand Gallery of the Palace of Versailles, thousands of candles were lit, reflected in the mirrors, and on the dresses of the court ladies there were "so many jewels and gold that they could hardly walk." None of the European states dared to compete with France, which was then at the zenith of glory. "Big style" appeared at the right time and in the right place. He accurately reflected the content of the era - but not its actual state, but the mood of the minds. The king himself had little interest in art, he waged inglorious wars that exhausted the forces of the state. And people seemed to be trying not to notice this, they wanted to look like they seemed to themselves in their imagination. What arrogance! When studying this era, one gets the feeling that its greatest artists were tailors and hairdressers. But history eventually put everything in its place, preserving for us the great works of architects, sculptors, draftsmen and engravers. The mania for style, the French "great manner" was rapidly spreading across Europe, overcoming diplomatic and state barriers. The power of art turned out to be stronger than weapons, and Berlin, Vienna, and even stiff London capitulated to it.

Basic principles of style

"Louis XIV Style" laid the foundations of an international European court culture and ensured with his triumph the successful dissemination of ideas Classicism and art style neoclassical in the second half of the 18th - early 19th centuries. in most European countries. Another important feature of the era of the "Grand Style" is that it was at this time that the ideology and forms of European academicism were finally taking shape. In 1648, on the initiative of the "first painter of the king" Lebrun, a Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture. In 1666, the French Academy of Painting was established in Rome. In 1671, organized in Paris Royal Academy of Architecture. F. Blondel the Elder was appointed its director, A. Felibien was its secretary. "Big style" required a lot of money. Royal court, court aristocracy, academies and Catholic Church managed to create an environment, at least within the radius of the capital, in which expensive masterpieces arose. First of all, the construction of grandiose architectural ensembles was required. The official positions of "architect of the king" and "first architect of the king" were introduced.

All construction work was in the department of the Court. In 1655-1661. architect L. Levo built for N. Fouquet, "royal comptroller of finances", Palace of Vaux-le-Vicomte. A park regular style smashed A. Le Nôtre, interiors with brilliance designed S. Lebrun. The palace and the park aroused such strong envy of King Louis that the minister Fouquet was thrown into prison on the first pretext, and Le Vaux and Le Nôtre were ordered to build something more grandiose in Paris and Versailles. In 1664-1674. The construction of the eastern facade completed the architectural ensemble of the Louvre - the main royal residence in Paris. The eastern facade is called the "Colonnade of the Louvre" because of the powerful row of double columns of the "big order". Columns with Corinthian capitals raised above ground floor and cover the second and third floors, creating a powerful, austere and majestic image. The colonnade stretched for 173 meters. The history of this masterpiece is interesting. An outstanding master of the mature Roman Baroque J. L. Bernini was invited to participate in the competition. He presented a baroque project with fancifully curved facades, saturated with many decorative elements, but the French preferred their own, domestic, more strict and classic. Its author was not a professional builder, but a physician who was fond of architecture and translated at his leisure into French treatise of Vitruvius. It was K. Perrot. He defended exclusively the ancient, ancient Italian foundations of classical architecture. Together with C. Perrault, F. de Orbe and L. Levo took part in the construction of the Louvre, who created the new northern and southern wings of the palace.

During the reign of Louis XIV, the architect and fortifier S. de Vauban became famous, he built over thirty new fortress cities and reconstructed many old ones. L. Levo became the author of two outstanding buildings that had a significant impact on the development of the architecture of European Classicism: Hotel Lambert(1645) and ensemble " College of the Four Nations» (« Institute of France»; 1661-1665). Next to the "College de France" in 1635-1642. the architect J. Lemercier built the Sorbonne church with an Italian Baroque façade (it contains the tomb of Cardinal Richelieu, rector of the university). Like the College de France chapel, the Sorbonne church is crowned with an unusual “French dome” for that time. In 1671-1676. L. Bruant erected on the left bank of the Seine a complex of buildings for Invalides for war veterans. In 1679-1706. architect J. Hardouin Mansart complemented this ensemble with his masterpiece - Church of Les Invalides. Its dome with gilded ornament, "lantern" and spire are visible from afar. The churches of the Institute of France, the Sorbonne and the Les Invalides were new type classical building, centric plan, with a portico, a triangular pediment and a dome on a drum with columns or pilasters. This composition - the so-called "French scheme" - is the basis for many subsequent works of architecture of European Classicism of the 18th-19th centuries, including in Russia. In 1685-1701. designed by J. Hardouin-Mansart in the center of Paris, a Place Louis the Great(later - Place Vendôme). Rectangular in plan, with cut corners, it was conceived as a ceremonial ensemble in honor of the Sun King. In the center was an equestrian statue of Louis XIV by F. Girardon (1683-1699); destroyed during the revolution of 1789. The facades of the buildings framing the square have porticos of the same type, which gives the composition integrity and completeness. Another square in honor of the king, also designed by J. Hardouin-Mansart, - “ Victory Square» (Place des Victoires) was created in 1685. It was decorated equestrian statue of Louis XIV work of a Dutch sculptor M. fan Len Bogart(nicknamed Desjardins); destroyed during the revolution of 1792 (restored by M. Bosio in 1822; see cavallo).

In 1672, according to the project of the head of the Royal Academy of Architecture F. Blondel the Elder, it was erected in honor of the victories of French weapons - the crossing of the army of King Louis across the Rhine. Blondel rethought the form of the Roman Arc de Triomphe and created a new type of building "Grand Style". The bas-reliefs of the arch according to the sketches of Ch. Lebrun were made by the sculptors Angie brothers. From 1676, Blondel developed a new master plan for Paris, which provided for the creation of large architectural ensembles and prospects. F. Blondel was an outstanding theorist, in his "Course of Architecture" (1675) he argued that the foundations of the classic style lie not "in imitation of Rome", but in rational thinking and precise calculation of proportions. The creator of the "Colonnade of the Louvre" K. Perrault argued with him. In 1691, another theoretical treatise under the same title: "The Course of Architecture" was published by Sh.-A. de Aviler. In 1682, Louis XIV left Paris and the court moved to a suburban residence -.

In this gesture, they see the desire of the king to create a new brilliant capital, entirely associated only with his name. Among the sculptors of the "Grand Style" stand out F. Girardon, A. Coisevo, N. Coust (whose younger brother is known for the groups of "Marly's horses"), P. Puget, J. Sarazin, J.-B. Tubi. During the reign of Louis XIV, two outstanding painters worked: K. Lorrain and N. Poussin. They worked in Italy and in their aspirations were far from the pompous "Grand Style". A staunch novelist C. Lorrain is a landscape painter, lyricist and romantic. N. Poussin created masterpieces that embody the ideas of "pure" Roman Classicism, which also romantically translates the harmony of antiquity. Despite the demands of the king, Poussin did not want to work in France and be a court painter. Therefore, the laurels of the court painter were first acquired by the cold and boring academician S. Vuz, and then by his student P. Minyar. In the same years, the famous dispute between the "Poussinists" (adherents of Classicism) and the "Rubensists" (supporters of the Baroque) flared up. At the Royal Academy of Painting, the “Poussinists” were supported by Ch. Lebrun, and the “Rubensists” by P. Mignard and Roger de Piles. C. Lebrun revered Raphael and Poussin and devoted special lectures to these artists at the Academy; in 1642 he accompanied Poussin to Italy and for some time worked alongside him in Rome. But it is characteristic that the dilemma "Poussin-Rubens" (Classicism-Baroque), reflected in the walls of the Paris Academy by the confrontation between Lebrun-Mignard, lost its meaning, so similar was academic painting: academicism leveled the differences in style. Court portraits of the "large statuary, or high style" created by S. Vue and P. Mignard are sometimes called "baroque academism". From the walls of the Apollo Gallery in the Louvre, the French kings and the best artists of France of that time look at us - all the portraits show a condescending, condescending expression, and on the face of the Sun King (portrait by Lebrun) - a contemptuous grimace. The same expression on a work magnificent in painting and composition - a portrait of Louis XIV by I. Rigaud. Most of the paintings of the “first painter of the king” Charles Lebrun are the most boring examples of academic classicism.

There is a large hall in the Louvre, completely filled with huge canvases by C. Lebrun, it is unbearable to look at them. At the same time, "Portrait of Chancellor Seguier" (1661), his own work, is the most exquisite work in terms of painting. These contradictions reflect the nuances of the Grand Style era. The outstanding engravers J. Morin, K. Mellan, R. Nanteuil, J. Edelink made a significant contribution to the art of the ceremonial portrait of the “statuary style”. The painter N. de Largilliere, who, like many other portrait painters, worked under the influence of A. Van Dyck, painted secular beauties in the form of ancient goddesses and nymphs against the backdrop of a forest landscape, which anticipated the features of the Rococo style of the middle of the next century. In the 17th century in France, the best works in the genre of ornamental engraving were created, to say the least: the genre itself was created. The compositions of J. Lepôtre, D. Marot the Elder and J. Marot the Elder, collected in large albums (“Vases”, “Portals”, “Plafonds”, “Cartouches”, “Fireplaces”, “Borders”) demonstrated the main features in the best possible way "Grand style", they diverged in many countries and had a significant impact on the development of decorative art throughout Europe. Working in this genre, the artists were not regulated by the plot and the requirements of the customer, they gave free rein to their imagination, working out individual formal elements of style to perfection.

Manifestation of "Great style" in decor

An outstanding decorator of the “Grand Style”, who also anticipated the Rococo style, was J. Veren the Elder. He designed court festivities, productions of operas by J.-B. Lully, a composer of the "Versailles style", made drawings of furniture, interior design and decor of ships. In the same years, the grandiose plan of Louis XIV was carried out: to make engravings from all the significant works of art created in France during the years of his reign and located in the royal collections. An idea worthy of "Big Style"! Such an artistic encyclopedia began to be prepared from 1663 and was published in albums of engravings on copper “in folio” (Latin “on a sheet”, that is, large format) in 1677-1683. The engravings reproduce paintings, sculptures, royal tapestries, collections of medals, coins, cameos, views of royal palaces and castles. In 1727 and 1734, these series were published again under the title "Royal Cabinet" (a similar series was created in 1729-1742 under the direction of P. Crozat). The initiatives of King Louis XIV contributed to the formation of the art collection of the Louvre. In 1662, by order of the Minister J.-B. Colbert, from a simple workshop of wool dyers in the suburbs of Paris, the “Royal Furniture Manufactory”, or the Tapestry Manufactory, was created.

It produced not only woven carpets - tapestries, but also furniture, mosaics, bronze products. From 1664, the Beauvais manufactory operated, from 1665 - Aubusson, from 1624 - Savonnerie. At the turn of the XVII-XVIII centuries. French art, according to the impressions of contemporaries, created a feeling of "unbridled luxury and splendor." Koryverdyur and huge "picture" tapestries with lush borders - garlands of flowers and fruits, emblems and cartouches, with woven shimmering gold and silver threads, occupied all the walls. They not only corresponded to the character of the interiors of the "Grand Style", but set the tone for them. Ch. Lebrun was the chief artist of the Gobelin manufactory. The most famous series of espaliers based on his cardboards is The Months, or Royal Castles (1666), in which Lebrun successfully connected " classic style Raphael with the baroque splendor of Rubens. From 1668 to 1682 a series of twelve carpets was repeated seven times. Other series also became famous, also based on the cardboards of Lebrun, “The History of Louis XIV”, “The Elements, or the Seasons”, “The History of Alexander the Great”. France has never known such an abundance of masterpieces of decorative art. An event in the art of furniture was the original works of the outstanding master A.-Sh. Bull. His monumental cabinets and chests of drawers with gilded bronze overlays, intarsia rich in color and texture, corresponded to the grandeur of grand palace interiors. In the 17th century, in addition to velvet and silk, lace came into fashion, they became an indispensable accessory not only for women, but also for men.

First, Flemish lace and Venetian guipure were imported into France. In 1665, a workshop was founded in Alençon, where local craftswomen were trained by Venetian lacemakers. Soon Alencon guipure was called "point de France" ("French stitch"). By special decree, King Louis ordered his courtiers to wear only French lace. They were distinguished by a particularly small, exquisite pattern. The court jeweler of Louis XIV was the silversmith K. Ballen the First. He created cutlery and cast silver furniture for Versailles. These works did not last long. In 1689, in connection with the financial difficulties of the state, the king issued a "Decree against luxury" on the melting down of all gold and silver items into coins. A huge number of unique works perished. But the king still did not have enough money, and the decree was repeated in 1700. As a result, French jewelry was damaged enormously, but at the same time, the decrees contributed to the rise of faience production in Rouen and Mustier. Silverware was to be replaced by faience. This is how the unique “radiant style” of Rouen faience painting appeared. End of the 17th century was also the heyday of the art of silk embroidery. The "grand style" of the Sun King era created another French tradition. The tone in art began to be set by women. Many original artistic ideas were born not at the throne, but in the Salons (this word also appeared in the 17th century), aristocratic living rooms and boudoirs of the king's favorites: from 1661 Mademoiselle de La Vallière, in 1668-1678 - F. de Montespan . Marquise Francoise Athenais de Montespan (1641-1707) was a representative of the oldest aristocratic family. Many artists owe their well-being to her education, fine taste and love for art. In 1678 Marie Angelique de Fontanges (1661-1681) attracted the king's attention. Its influence explains the emergence of new models of clothing, hairstyles, jewelry. So, one day, during a royal hunt, the Duchess de Fontange's hair fell apart and she tied her hair with a ribbon. The king expressed his admiration and soon all the ladies of the court began to wear the fontange hairstyle (“a La Fontanges”).

In 1684, after the death of the Queen, Louis XIV secretly married the Marquise Francoise de Maintenon (1635-1719). The marquise was distinguished by her piety and over the years more and more submitted to the influence of her Catholic confessors. Through her, the church decided to convert Louis to the path of piety. Therefore, the entire second half of the reign was painted with harsh tones and took place in an atmosphere of "general despondency." It is also believed that it was under the influence of the devout Catholic Maintenon that the king decided to cancel the Edict of Nantes in 1685. This edict, issued by Henry IV as early as 1598, guaranteed freedom of religion in France. With its abolition, a significant part of the master jewelers, chasers, enamellers, ceramists, weavers, who were Protestants, were forced to leave France forever. Having moved to Germany, England, Holland, Switzerland, these masters made a significant contribution to the development of decorative and applied arts these countries. After the abolition of the Edict of Nantes, a decline in artistic life France. By the end of the XVII century. The “grand style” had clearly exhausted its possibilities, the “golden age” of French art was ending to give way to the chamber and slightly tired art of the Regency style of the early 18th century. But since the 17th century in Europe, the spread of the ideas of Classicism begins. These ideas were able to take shape in an international artistic style only from the middle of the 18th century. For France, after the classic art of the Renaissance of the XVI century. and the “Great Style” of the 17th century, it was already the third wave of Classicism, therefore the artistic style of French art of the second half of the 18th century is called Neoclassicism, while in relation to other European countries it is simply Classicism.

Lush "Louis XIV style" in the interior

The interiors of the time of Louis XIV acquire, in contrast to the external appearance of the buildings of this time, an extremely magnificent, solemn-ceremonial character. Fulfilling their social and historical role, they served as a rich, magnificent and at the same time monumental backdrop for the ceremonies and rituals of the court life of that time. France during this period was the most powerful state in Europe. The artistic dictator of that time, the court painter Charles Lebrun, sought to increase the major sound of the interior decoration by introducing polychrome marbles in combination with gilded bronze, reliefs, and outwardly spectacular plafond painting. Order elements were used in the interiors, mainly pilasters, semi-columns, but the main attention was paid not to the accuracy of their proportions, but rather to the decoration - lining with colored marbles. The main role in the decoration of the premises was played by heavy frames and architectural and plastic details, which framed and decorated individual sections of the walls, cornices, were placed in the form of desudeports above the doors, on the ceiling. Examples are the decoration of the Palace of Versailles, including the halls of War and Peace.

The leading role in determining the style of decorative art of this time, as noted, belonged to Charles Le Brun, in the development of samples in the first period of the heyday of the Baroque - to the artist Jean Lepotre.

The palace furniture of the Louis XIV style was distinguished by the richness and oversaturation of the design, especially the carving, which was richly covered with gilding. In addition to furniture with carved processing, furniture comes into fashion. "bull style", later named after the court blacksmith Andre Charles Bull (1642 - 1732). In the presence of a fairly simple structure, objects were created from colored, mainly ebony, they were decorated in abundance with the help of orozon frames filled with tortoiseshell inserts, mother-of-pearl and other materials, rods, rosettes and other details. The compositional basis was made up of panels with the introduction of human figures framed by the twists of the ornament. Bull's furniture, rich and refined, at the same time produced a feeling of a certain dryness of forms.

Since the 1680s, furniture made in this style has acquired a special sophistication in decoration, due to the displacement of wooden parts by shiny metal - gilded bronze. Silver, brass, tin were also used in decoration.

Armchairs, chairs, and sofas that are becoming widespread at this time have S-shaped or pyramidal, tapering down legs. The shape of the armrests is also becoming more complicated. The soft seat, high back and partially armrests are covered with various elegant trellis fabrics with images of trees, flowers, birds and ornamental curls. The types of chairs are becoming more diverse, in particular, there are chairs with two side semicircular ledges at the back at head level - especially for the elderly. On the basis of the combination of three interconnected armchairs with armrests missing from the central chair, sofas arise. The frames of their backs acquire soft wavy outlines.

At this time, cabinet furniture became more widespread: tables of various shapes, wall consoles, most often on bent legs, chests of drawers that replaced chests-cassettes for storing linen. Rich carvings and gilded bronze details are widely used in decoration. The furniture of this time, heavy and monumental, acquires a great compositional diversity both in general and in individual elements.

Applied art of the middle and second half of the 17th century, as noted above, had great value for interior decoration. The rooms were decorated with espaliers, savoneri pile carpets laid on the floor, silk fabrics, draperies and tablecloths, silverware, which over time became more widespread and important.

Since the end of the 17th century, due to the deterioration of the economic situation of the country, including the royal court, caused by failures of a military and political nature, the ultimate luxury of decoration, observed at the court of Louis XIV, gives way to relative restraint. The elements of classicism are intensified in the interiors.

The “Louis XIV style” laid the foundations for an international European court culture and ensured, with its triumph, the successful dissemination of the ideas of Classicism and the artistic style of Neoclassicism in the second half of the 18th - early 19th centuries. in most European countries. Another important feature of the era of the "Grand Style" is that it was at this time that the ideology and forms of European academicism were finally taking shape. In 1648, at the initiative of the "first painter of the king" Berger O. The World History// New History T. 3, St. Petersburg, 1999. P.171. Lebrun founded the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture in Paris. In 1666, the French Academy of Painting was established in Rome. In 1671, the Royal Academy of Architecture was organized in Paris. F. Blondel the Elder was appointed its director, A. Felibien was its secretary. "Big style" required a lot of money. The royal court, the court aristocracy, the Academies and the Catholic Church managed to create an environment, even within the radius of the capital, in which expensive masterpieces arose. First of all, the construction of grandiose architectural ensembles was required. The official positions of "architect of the king" and "first architect of the king" were introduced.

All construction work was in the department of the Court. In 1655-1661. architect L. Levo built for N. Fouquet, the "royal controller of finances", the palace of Vaux-le-Viscount. The regular style park was laid out by A. Le Nôtre, the interiors were brilliantly designed by Ch. Lebrun. The palace and the park aroused such strong envy of King Louis that the minister Fouquet was thrown into prison on the first pretext, and Le Vaux and Le Nôtre were ordered to build something more grandiose in Paris and Versailles. In 1664-1674. The construction of the eastern facade completed the architectural ensemble of the Louvre - the main royal residence in Paris. The eastern facade is called the "Colonnade of the Louvre" because of the powerful row of double columns of the "big order". Columns with Corinthian capitals are raised above the basement and cover the second and third floors, creating a powerful, austere and majestic image. The colonnade stretched for 173 meters. The history of this masterpiece is interesting. An outstanding master of the mature Roman Baroque J. L. Bernini was invited to participate in the competition. He presented a baroque project with pretentiously curved facades, saturated with many decorative elements, but the French preferred their own, domestic, more strict and classic. Its author was not a professional builder, but a physician who was fond of architecture and translated the treatise of Vitruvius into French at his leisure. It was K. Perrot. He defended exclusively the ancient, ancient Italian foundations of classical architecture. Together with C. Perrault, F. de Orbe and L. Levo took part in the construction of the Louvre, who created the new northern and southern wings of the palace Lysyanov V.B. Louis XIV on the State and Monarchy // New and Contemporary History No. 5 M., 2002. P. 145 ..

During the reign of Louis XIV, the architect and fortifier S. de Vauban became famous, he built over thirty new fortress cities and reconstructed many old ones. L. Levo became the author of two outstanding buildings that had a noticeable influence on the development of the architecture of European Classicism: the Hotel Lambert (1645) and the ensemble of the College of the Four Nations (Institut de France; 1661-1665). Next to the "College de France" in 1635-1642. the architect J. Lemercier built the Sorbonne church with an Italian Baroque façade (it contains the tomb of Cardinal Richelieu, rector of the university). Like the College de France chapel, the Sorbonne church is crowned with an unusual “French dome” for that time. In 1671-1676. L. Bruant erected on the left bank of the Seine a complex of buildings for Invalides for war veterans. In 1679-1706. architect J. Hardouin Mansart completed this ensemble with his masterpiece - the church of Les Invalides. Its dome with gilded ornament, "lantern" and spire are visible from afar. The churches of the Institut de France, the Sorbonne and the Les Invalides were a new type of classical building, centric plan, with a portico, a triangular pediment and a dome on a drum with columns or pilasters. This composition - the so-called "French scheme" - is the basis for many subsequent works of architecture of European Classicism of the 18th-19th centuries, including in Russia. In 1685-1701. According to the project of J. Hardouin-Mansart, Place Louis the Great (later Place Vendôme) was created in the center of Paris. Rectangular in plan, with cut corners, it was conceived as a ceremonial ensemble in honor of the Sun King. In the center was an equestrian statue of Louis XIV by F. Girardon (1683-1699); destroyed during the revolution of 1789. The facades of the buildings framing the square have porticos of the same type, which gives the composition integrity and completeness. Another square in honor of the king, also designed by J. Hardouin-Mansart, is the “Place des Victoires” (Place des Victoires) created in 1685. It was decorated with an equestrian statue of Louis XIV by the Dutch sculptor M. fan Len Bogart (nicknamed Desjardins); destroyed during the revolution of 1792 (restored by M. Bosio in 1822; see cavallo).

In 1672, according to the project of the head of the Royal Academy of Architecture, F. Blondel the Elder, the Arch of Saint-Denis was erected in honor of the victories of French weapons - the crossing of the army of King Louis across the Rhine. Blondel rethought the form of the Roman Arc de Triomphe and created a new type of building "Grand Style". The bas-reliefs of the arch according to the sketches of Ch. Lebrun were made by the sculptors Angie brothers. From 1676, Blondel developed a new master plan for Paris, which provided for the creation of large architectural ensembles and prospects. F. Blondel was an outstanding theorist, in his "Course of Architecture" (1675) he argued that the foundations of the classic style lie not "in imitation of Rome", but in rational thinking and precise calculation of proportions. The creator of the "Colonnade of the Louvre" K. Perrault argued with him. In 1691, another theoretical treatise under the same title: "The Course of Architecture" was published by Sh.-A. de Aviler. In 1682, Louis XIV left Paris and the court moved to a suburban residence - Versailles.

In this gesture, they see the desire of the king to create a new brilliant capital, entirely associated only with his name. Among the sculptors of the "Grand Style" stand out F. Girardon, A. Coisevo, N. Coust (whose younger brother is known for the groups of "Marly's horses"), P. Puget, J. Sarazin, J.-B. Tubi. During the reign of Louis XIV, two outstanding painters worked: K. Lorrain and N. Poussin. They worked in Italy and in their aspirations were far from the pompous "Grand Style". A staunch novelist C. Lorrain is a landscape painter, lyricist and romantic. N. Poussin created masterpieces that embody the ideas of "pure" Roman Classicism, which also romantically translates the harmony of antiquity. Despite the demands of the king, Poussin did not want to work in France and be a court painter. Therefore, the laurels of the court painter were first acquired by the cold and boring academician S. Vuz, and then by his student P. Minyar. In the same years, the famous dispute between the "Poussinists" (adherents of Classicism) and the "Rubensists" (supporters of the Baroque) flared up. At the Royal Academy of Painting, the “Poussinists” were supported by Ch. Lebrun, and the “Rubensists” by P. Mignard and Roger de Piles. C. Lebrun revered Raphael and Poussin and devoted special lectures to these artists at the Academy; in 1642 he accompanied Poussin to Italy and for some time worked alongside him in Rome. But it is characteristic that the dilemma "Poussin-Rubens" (Classicism-Baroque), reflected in the walls of the Paris Academy by the confrontation between Lebrun-Mignard, lost its meaning, so similar was academic painting: academicism leveled the differences in style. Court portraits of the "large statuary, or high style" created by S. Vue and P. Mignard are sometimes called "baroque academism". From the walls of the Apollo Gallery in the Louvre, the French kings and the best artists of France of that time look at us - all the portraits show a condescending, condescending expression, and on the face of the Sun King (portrait by Lebrun) - a contemptuous grimace. The same expression on a work magnificent in painting and composition - a portrait of Louis XIV by I. Rigaud. Most of the paintings of the “first painter of the king” Charles Lebrun are the most boring examples of academic classicism Lysyanov V.B. Louis XIV on the State and Monarchy // New and Contemporary History No. 5 M., 2002. P. 147 ..

There is a large hall in the Louvre, completely filled with huge canvases by C. Lebrun, it is unbearable to look at them. At the same time, "Portrait of Chancellor Seguier" (1661), his own work, is the most exquisite work in terms of painting. These contradictions reflect the nuances of the Grand Style era. The outstanding engravers J. Morin, K. Mellan, R. Nanteuil, J. Edelink made a significant contribution to the art of the ceremonial portrait of the “statuary style”. The painter N. de Largilliere, who, like many other portrait painters, worked under the influence of A. Van Dyck, painted secular beauties in the form of ancient goddesses and nymphs against the backdrop of a forest landscape, which anticipated the features of the Rococo style of the middle of the next century. In the 17th century in France, the best works in the genre of ornamental engraving were created, to say the least: the genre itself was created. The compositions of J. Lepôtre, D. Marot the Elder and J. Marot the Elder, collected in large albums (“Vases”, “Portals”, “Plafonds”, “Cartouches”, “Fireplaces”, “Borders”) demonstrated the main features in the best possible way "Grand style", they diverged in many countries and had a significant impact on the development of decorative art throughout Europe. Working in this genre, the artists were not regulated by the plot and the requirements of the customer, they gave free rein to their imagination, working out individual formal elements of style to perfection.

This explains why only certain elements were borrowed from the Italian Baroque, and the ideas of Classicism remained the main formative principles of the art of the era of Louis XIV. So, in the design of the facades of buildings, a strict classicist order design of the wall was preserved, but baroque elements were present in the details of interior design, tapestries, and furniture.
The influence of state ideology was so great that it was from that time on that certain stages in the development of art in France began to be designated by the names of kings: the style of Louis XIV, the style of Louis XV, the style of Louis XVI. The custom of such a name was later turned back, to the time before the reign of Louis XIV. Another important feature of the era was that it was in France in the second half of the 17th century that the very concept of artistic style was formed. Prior to that, in Italy, the ideas of Classicism, just starting to take shape, were immediately pushed aside by Mannerism and Baroque.
Classicism as an artistic trend took shape in France, and since then, not Rome, but Paris began to dictate fashion in art, and its role did not weaken over the subsequent 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. For the first time in history, in France of the era of Louis XIV, style began to be recognized as the most important category of art, aesthetics, became the norm of life, life and customs, penetrating all aspects of court etiquette (a word that also appeared at the court of Louis XIV). Along with the awareness of style comes the aestheticization of individual formal elements, the cultivation of taste, "a sense of detail." This feature has become a tradition that has created over several decades a special "sense of form", plastic culture, subtlety of thinking, inherent in the French school. But this culture was not easy to develop. At first, the Renaissance ideal of a holistic, static, self-balanced form (somewhat shattered by the art of Mannerism and Baroque) was replaced by the idea of ​​aestheticizing "random charms" and individual means of achieving beauty: line, paint, material texture. Instead of the category of composition (compositio), put forward by the Italian architect and theorist L. B. Alberti, the concept of "mixed connection" (lat. mixtum compositura) is introduced. The beginning of such fragmentation was laid by the Italian mannerist artists who worked at the court of Francis I, and then Henry II at the Fontainebleau school. Their French students, who worked in the count and royal castles along the river. The Loire (see "Val-de-Loire") and in Paris itself, gradually formed an aristocratic culture of form, which later shone in the Rococo style of the 18th century, but it brought its first fruits in the 17th century. “Perhaps the influence of French art on the life of the upper strata of European society, including Russian society, was stronger in the 18th century, but the foundations of the supremacy of the French language, manners, fashion, pleasures were undoubtedly laid by the time of the Sun King.
It is no coincidence that the second half of the 17th century is called "the most brilliant period of French history." The most common words often repeated in memoirs and aesthetic treatises of that time are: great, grandeur, luxurious, festive... Probably, the splendor of the style of court art really created the impression of an "eternal celebration of life." According to the famous memoirist Madame de Sevigne, the court of Louis XIV was all the time "in a state of pleasure and art" ... The king "always listens to some music, very pleasant. He talks with ladies who are accustomed to this honor ... Festivities continue every day and midnight." In the "brilliant seventeenth century" style, etiquette, manner became a real mania. Hence the fashion for mirrors and memoirs. People wanted to see themselves from the outside, to become spectators of their own poses. The flourishing of the art of the court portrait was not long in coming. The luxury of palace receptions amazed the envoys of European courts.
In the Grand Gallery of the Palace of Versailles, thousands of candles were lit, reflected in the mirrors, and on the dresses of the court ladies there were "so many jewels and gold that they could hardly walk." None of the European states dared to compete with France, which was then at the zenith of glory. "Big style" appeared at the right time and in the right place. He accurately reflected the content of the era - but not its actual state, but the mood of the minds. The king himself had little interest in art, he waged inglorious wars that exhausted the forces of the state. And people seemed to be trying not to notice this, they wanted to look like they seemed to themselves in their imagination. What arrogance! When studying this era, one gets the feeling that its greatest artists were tailors and hairdressers. But history eventually put everything in its place, preserving for us the great works of architects, sculptors, draftsmen and engravers. The mania for style, the French "great manner" was rapidly spreading across Europe, overcoming diplomatic and state barriers. The power of art turned out to be stronger than weapons, and Berlin, Vienna, and even stiff London capitulated to it.

Basic principles of style.