L’œuvre de miséricorde du Roi : la statue de Louis XIV pour l’Hôtel de Ville de Paris par Antoine Coysevox, 1687-1689

This paper offers an iconographical analysis of Antoine Coysvox’s bronze statue of Louis XIV. The King authorized this new effigy during the 1687 Parisian festivities that commemorated his miraculous recovery from illness. Coysevox’s statue, revealed to the public in 1689, not only became the symbol...

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Main Author: Alexandra Woolley
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: UMR 5136- France, Amériques, Espagne – Sociétés, Pouvoirs, Acteurs (FRAMESPA) 2012-11-01
Series:Les Cahiers de Framespa
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/framespa/1965
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author Alexandra Woolley
author_facet Alexandra Woolley
author_sort Alexandra Woolley
collection DOAJ
description This paper offers an iconographical analysis of Antoine Coysvox’s bronze statue of Louis XIV. The King authorized this new effigy during the 1687 Parisian festivities that commemorated his miraculous recovery from illness. Coysevox’s statue, revealed to the public in 1689, not only became the symbol of an official reconciliation between Paris and Versailles, but also became an occasion to promote the image of the Very Christian King. The bas-reliefs that adorn the statue’s pedestal state in allegorical language Louis XIV’s Catholic virtues. The first one shows Piety feeding the poor, commemorating the bread that was given out to the Parisians during the famine of 1662. This royal charitable action of « feeding the hungry », a work of mercy, is associated with the iconography of the second bas-relief which represents Religion striking down Heresy, celebrating the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, decided in 1685. These allegorical compositions thus appear as a proselytizing advocacy, attesting that the King not only fed his subjects’bodies, but he also nourished their souls, sealing Louis XIV’s political and religious authority on Paris.
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spelling doaj-art-ff795385f9ea430e9929aed591fd271b2025-01-09T15:44:00ZengUMR 5136- France, Amériques, Espagne – Sociétés, Pouvoirs, Acteurs (FRAMESPA)Les Cahiers de Framespa1760-47612012-11-011110.4000/framespa.1965L’œuvre de miséricorde du Roi : la statue de Louis XIV pour l’Hôtel de Ville de Paris par Antoine Coysevox, 1687-1689Alexandra WoolleyThis paper offers an iconographical analysis of Antoine Coysvox’s bronze statue of Louis XIV. The King authorized this new effigy during the 1687 Parisian festivities that commemorated his miraculous recovery from illness. Coysevox’s statue, revealed to the public in 1689, not only became the symbol of an official reconciliation between Paris and Versailles, but also became an occasion to promote the image of the Very Christian King. The bas-reliefs that adorn the statue’s pedestal state in allegorical language Louis XIV’s Catholic virtues. The first one shows Piety feeding the poor, commemorating the bread that was given out to the Parisians during the famine of 1662. This royal charitable action of « feeding the hungry », a work of mercy, is associated with the iconography of the second bas-relief which represents Religion striking down Heresy, celebrating the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, decided in 1685. These allegorical compositions thus appear as a proselytizing advocacy, attesting that the King not only fed his subjects’bodies, but he also nourished their souls, sealing Louis XIV’s political and religious authority on Paris.https://journals.openedition.org/framespa/1965sculptureallegoryRoyal AcademyLouis XIVbronze
spellingShingle Alexandra Woolley
L’œuvre de miséricorde du Roi : la statue de Louis XIV pour l’Hôtel de Ville de Paris par Antoine Coysevox, 1687-1689
Les Cahiers de Framespa
sculpture
allegory
Royal Academy
Louis XIV
bronze
title L’œuvre de miséricorde du Roi : la statue de Louis XIV pour l’Hôtel de Ville de Paris par Antoine Coysevox, 1687-1689
title_full L’œuvre de miséricorde du Roi : la statue de Louis XIV pour l’Hôtel de Ville de Paris par Antoine Coysevox, 1687-1689
title_fullStr L’œuvre de miséricorde du Roi : la statue de Louis XIV pour l’Hôtel de Ville de Paris par Antoine Coysevox, 1687-1689
title_full_unstemmed L’œuvre de miséricorde du Roi : la statue de Louis XIV pour l’Hôtel de Ville de Paris par Antoine Coysevox, 1687-1689
title_short L’œuvre de miséricorde du Roi : la statue de Louis XIV pour l’Hôtel de Ville de Paris par Antoine Coysevox, 1687-1689
title_sort l oeuvre de misericorde du roi la statue de louis xiv pour l hotel de ville de paris par antoine coysevox 1687 1689
topic sculpture
allegory
Royal Academy
Louis XIV
bronze
url https://journals.openedition.org/framespa/1965
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