Church patronage of art in a career of the 18th-century Parisian painter

Agratina Elena Evgen'evna ORCID: 0000-0001-9842-0967 PhD in Art History Associate Professor, Department of Choreography and Ballet Studies, Moscow State Academy of Choreography 119146, Russia, Moscow, 2nd frunzenskaya str., 5 agratina_elena@mail.ru Other publications by this author

An artist who considered his education completed, as a rule, found himself faced with the need to earn a living. Whatever the status of the young master, he had to occupy a certain niche in the art world, ideally corresponding to his education, creative abilities and genre preferences. In modern terms, the young artist needed to socialize among customers. The Academy of Painting and Sculpture, as a structure reporting directly to the king, facilitated the receipt of official royal orders. However, this path was not available to all masters. Many had to look for a customer on their own. Preference was given, of course, to categories with wealth and education, that is, the aristocracy and the large financial bourgeoisie close to it. Various public institutions, in particular, a church or a theater, could also act as customers.

The church order could approach the official one when it came to creating large-scale picturesque ensembles for significant sacred structures, and the initiator was a high-ranking person representing the church. Sometimes it turned out to be closer to private, if it came from persons who did not occupy such a high position: the abbots of small monasteries, ordinary representatives of the white and black clergy. However, in any case, confessional affiliation and work for a clerical customer was an important factor in the socialization of the master, his integration into modern society.

In France, during the XVIII century, Catholicism remained the privileged state religion. Religious practice formed a significant part of public life, Parisians actively attended Mass, participated in festive processions and pilgrimages, invested in the construction and decoration of churches. In this sense, it would be wrong to judge the entire Parisian society by individual representatives of the intellectual and secular elite. In an aristocratic society, and even more so in a bourgeois one, religion was of fundamental importance. Paris was filled with parishes, which were the place of constant meetings of residents of certain neighborhoods and small centers of their social existence. Baptisms, weddings and funerals take place here, various issues that are important for the well-being of each such community are discussed here.

The artist could receive orders from both his own and other parishes. The Catholic Church, as in the previous century, orders a lot of paintings. Of course, these are primarily canvases of the historical genre on the subject of Holy Scripture and Sacred Tradition. Large cycles of paintings are created, which are performed most often by a whole group of masters. Such large-scale orders can come through the Academy of Painting and Sculpture, as well as through representatives of the highest aristocracy and high-ranking church ministers.

Works were also created for monastic communities. Monasteries in the XVIII century continued to struggle in three most important areas of human life: they remained significant religious centers, dealt with education, in particular primary, and health care – most of the hospitals still existed at the monasteries and were served by them. As A. Corvisier notes, in the XVIII century there is a process of humanization of monastic life: "Monks have become more demanding of household amenities. Like all people of their time, they want to have more comfortable, better lit and ventilated buildings" ^{[3, p. 50]}. Secular tastes manifest themselves in the monastery walls. Libraries are being built and decorated here, halls for the collection of valuable objects of worship are being designed. In addition to the actual religious painting, portraits of priests and even monks are created for churches and monasteries. Sometimes they also become actors in the plots of household painting.

It can be noted that Parisian artists were sufficiently interested in such orders, since it is in religious buildings that their works remain accessible to the general public. Exhibitions organized in Paris, even the famous academic Salons gave only a short-term opportunity to show their achievements. The works made for the royal and aristocratic private customer remained in the collections of their owners. The canvases placed in religious buildings were constantly in front of the eyes of Paris residents, they were examined by visitors, young people studied on the example of these works. Thus, it is believed that during his stay in the studio of J.B.S. Chardin, the young J.O. Fragonard spent a lot of time making copies of those paintings of religious content that filled the churches of Paris in abundance.

We will consistently consider the above groups of works: small parish commissions, large official, monastic, as well as portraits of religious figures. For this study, it is important not only to classify church orders and determine the specifics of each variety, but also to understand the significance of church orders for Parisian painters of the era in question, for their creative life and career. This will allow us to better understand the balance of forces in the artistic environment of 18th-century Paris and somewhat balance the advantage that for this era is traditionally recognized for a secular order. Indeed, there are significantly more studies devoted to the royal and aristocratic order of the XVIII century than there are works related to the church. In this article we will refer to the most relevant French-language literature related to the chosen topic.

As for the parishes that mainly belonged to Parisian painters, members of the Academy, there are some studies here, in particular the article X, which is very valuable for us. Williams. The researcher points out that since many masters either had workshops in the Louvre or lived nearby, their main parishes were the churches of Saint-Roche, Saint-Eustache and Saint-Germain.’Auxeroi. Also significant parishes on the right bank of the Seine were the churches of Saint-Merry and Saint-Nicolas-des-Champs, and on the left bank of Saint-Sulpice, Saint-Germain-des-Pres and Saint-Nicolas-du-Chardonnay ^{[14, p. 108]}. Therefore, it is quite natural that several significant painting cycles and many individual works were created specifically for these temples.

Parishes were a place of socialization for craftsmen also because here they had to move not only among colleagues, but also to meet with all residents of their urban area, including artisans – representatives of the Corporation of St. Nicholas. Bows. Thus, academician J.-B. Udri and master craftsman J. lived on Jean-Pen Mallet Street. Blandin, and on Renard Street the neighbors were academician Parrosel and artisan Nicola Aber ^{[14, pp. 104-105]}. Often artists and artisans together took part in the decoration of their parish churches. If artists carried out orders for paintings, artisans could be engaged in the manufacture of objects made of bronze and silver, gilding of wooden and knock parts, etc.

In the case when it comes to paintings created by artists for their own parishes, there are very interesting precedents here. As an example, I would like to draw attention to the painting by Clement Belle (1722-1806), commissioned by the curate of the church of Saint-Merry in memory of the event that occurred on April 15, 1723. On this day, the priest, who came for the guests for communion, found them defiled and lying on the floor. To atone for this incident, a solemn service was held annually in the church of Saint-Merri. And the next curate of this church is P.–J. Artaud also planned to capture the event in painting, so that the memory of him would not disappear among the parishioners.

The vertical canvas (1759, Saint-Merry Church, 357x225 cm) depicts believers led by a priest who discovered the desecrated host. The canvas is divided diagonally into terrestrial and celestial zones. Thus, at the top right there is an image of God the Father, the Mother of God and the Crucifixion supported by angels. The Angel of Retribution in armor, looking like an ancient hero, gestures to show readiness to avenge the perfect sacrilege. The Lord, however, by stretching out His hand over him, stops the vengeance. The painting was placed in the Chapel of the Holy Communion of the Church of Saint-Merry between two previously executed works – "Souls of Purgatory" by N. Largiller (location unknown) and "The Way to Emmaus" by S.-A. Kuapel (1747, Church of Saint-Merry). The program of the hanging is obvious: the gifts brought by the Lord were desecrated, for which people will be punished in Purgatory, but the hope of salvation should not leave the flock. It is not known exactly how Largillier's painting looked, we only know that it depicted the Holy Virgin praying to her Son for souls in Purgatory ^{[13, p. 221]}. It is also known that the Largelier received 1,500 livres in payment ^{[2, T. 2, p. 452]}. 1277 livres was paid for the painting by Kuapel, "quite a bit for the director of the Academy," as H. notes. Williams ^{[14, p. 109]}. Note that Kuapel became director in 1746, a year before the creation of the painting. The low prices were, of course, due to the specifics of the order – the church, in the parish of which so many artists lived, was considered "its own". The fulfillment of God-pleasing orders was not a means of enrichment for artists, their reasons were different: from the actual religious feeling to the opportunity to place their works in a permanent public environment. We know that artists could do work for churches and for free. In particular, the same Kuapel gratuitously produced the "Position in the Coffin" (now lost) for the small non-parish church of San Nicolas du Louvre. This church was located on Orti Street and was visited by many artists, including those who occupied workshops in the Louvre, since the church, destroyed shortly before the revolution, was located directly opposite the windows of these workshops.

Among the large-scale cycles related to the most serious collective orders, one can name the cycle created by order of Louis XIV for the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris. Eight canvases dedicated to the life of the Virgin Mary were to be painted by the greatest masters of their time. The cycle includes "Rest on the way to Egypt" (Museum of Fine Arts, Arras) and "Bringing to the Temple" (Louvre) Louis de Boulogne, "Assumption of the Virgin" (lost) and "Jesus in the Temple" (Chapel of the Penitents, Villeneuve-sur-Lo) by Antoine Quapel, "Annunciation" (Louvre) Claude-Guy Alley, "The Adoration of the Magi" and "The Adoration of the Shepherds" (both Louvre) by Charles de Lafosse and "The Meeting of Mary and Elizabeth" (Notre Dame de Paris) by Jean Jouvenet.

The cycle was completed and placed in the choir space only in 1715-1717. Of the eight works, only the painting by Jouvenet is still in the cathedral. All the paintings of the cycle approach the format of a square, the side of which reaches more than 4 m. All of them are very high-quality variations on the theme of religious Baroque painting with a large number of figures, architectural backgrounds and lush draperies. Thus, the meeting of Mary and Elizabeth takes place against the backdrop of monumental, even severe in its simplicity structures with porticos and arches, the contrast of which is a motley and diverse crowd, including women, men, old men, Joseph with a donkey and three angels surrounded by swirling clouds. Using bright, open colors, Jouvenet achieves a festive, jubilant mood that permeates the composition.

"Bringing to the Temple" by Louis de Boulogne Jr. unfolds in the interior of a magnificent Baroque temple, in the decoration of which white marble and gilding are combined. Four twisted heavy bronze columns in the foreground give a clear reference to Lorenzo Bernini's ciborium above the altar in the Cathedral of St. Peter. Louis de Boulogne also owns "Rest on the Way to Egypt", where the ruined fragments of ancient architecture and sculpture recede before the riot of exotic vegetation. Even this composition managed to be interpreted as a multi-figure one, placing more than ten angels of various ages and types around the Mother of God with the baby: from babies and "winged heads" to full-scale adult figures.

Coloristically, the works differ somewhat among themselves. Thus, the works of Charles de Lafosse are written in a more restrained scale than the other canvases of the cycle. But such a plot as "The Adoration of the Magi" provided an opportunity to portray many bright exotic characters in oriental clothes and shiny armor, in turbans, berets with feathers and helmets.

It is known that each canvas of the series was valued at 2500 livres, which is not a high price for such large-scale and multi-figure compositions. We can say this, because closer to the middle of the XVIII century, the exact prices for canvases of various sizes set by the Directorate of Royal Buildings were fixed. A price of 6,000 livres was set for a 22x18–foot painting, 5,000 livres for a 17x13-foot canvas, and 4,000 livres were supposed to be paid for a 12x9-foot work ^{[11, p. 7]}. Portraits began to be paid lower than works of the historical genre. For a full–length portrait, a payment of 4000 livres was due, for a generation - 2500 livres, and waist and shoulder were estimated at 1500 livres ^{[7, p. XVII]}.

The canon of Notre Dame Cathedral Antoine de Laporte (1627-1710) took an active financial part in the implementation of the cycle. In memory of him, Jean Jouvenet created a thematic painting for the cathedral called "The Mass of Canon Antoine de Laporte" (circa 1710, Louvre). The vertical format of the canvas corresponds to the high arches of the depicted interior of the Gothic cathedral. The canon is represented right in front of the altar, heading towards the kneeling congregation in the foreground.

In the middle of the century, several masters performed another cycle designed to decorate the chapel of the Childhood of Christ in the church of Saint-Sulpice. For this purpose, such masters as Carl Vanloo, Noel Alley and Jean-Baptiste Pierre were invited. Their paintings were exhibited in academic Salons in 1750 and 1751 . In particular, "Offering to the temple" (location unknown) Pierre was presented in the Salon of 1750 ^{[5, p. 16]}, and his "Flight to Egypt" (Saint-Sulpice) – in the Salon of 1751, as well as Vanloo's painting "Christmas" (Museum of Fine Arts, Brest) and Alley's painting "Christ and the Children" (location unknown) ^{[6, p. 9, 13, 22]}. The canvases of the series reach three meters in height and almost two in width. Vanloo's "Christmas", despite its size, gives the impression of a rocaille work due to the cool sophistication of the color solution, the absence of sudden movements and angles, the overwhelming tenderness of the images. Mary herself and the three angels bending over the manger are illuminated by the radiance emanating from the baby, while from above, from the break in the clouds, the heavenly powers contemplate the scene, to which Joseph, standing behind the manger, raises his gaze.

"Flight to Egypt" by Pierre, known for his adherence to classicist tendencies, in this case does not show sharp stylistic discrepancies with the previous canvas. This relatively early work of Pierre fell on the heyday of Rococo, and despite the fact that there is a truly Roman grandeur in the figure of the standing Mary, the comeliness of the characters' faces and the tenderness of color make us consider the canvas in the context of rocaille aesthetics. Note that the ceiling of the church of Saint-Sulpice was created by Francois Lemoine in 1731-1732. It is also a rock work written in a light and light color scheme. Enclosed in an oval, the composition depicting the Madonna with saints and heavenly powers finds its culmination in a spatial breakthrough filled with divine glow. The masters of the mid-century, creating their canvases, certainly took into account this creation of their older contemporary, trying not to show dissonance to him.

It can be said that the religious painting of this period did not contradict the prevailing rocaille taste, but it impressed with its rather large size. Working on cycles similar to the one created for San Sulpice gave the masters the opportunity to work in a team, think through and implement a joint ensemble.

It should be noted that Carl Vanloo, a representative of a famous artistic dynasty and the director of the School of Selected Students, worked very hard for the church. A. Dandre-Bardon in the biography of Vanloo notes that "he was commissioned paintings for the main churches of Paris and the chapels of the royal house" ^{[4, p. 29]}. He participated both in collective orders and performed independent ones, for example, a cycle dedicated to the life of St. Augustine for the Church of Notre-Dame de Victoire in Paris. This church belonged to the Augustinian monastery, so we have before us one of the monastic orders. The church, founded by Louis XIII, was completed only in 1740, and now it was necessary to decorate it with paintings. Chosen by the Augustinians for his reputation as a master of religious painting, Vanloo agreed to single-handedly perform the entire cycle dedicated to the life of St. Augustine, which is still located in the church. The series opens with a special picture "The Vow of Louis XIII", which will be of interest to us in the first place. This painting took the main, central place above the altar. According to legend, the king promised to lay a church dedicated to Our Lady in case of the successful capture of La Rochelle, a stronghold of French Protestants. As A. Lepa Sesheval writes, this legend had no solid foundations and "The Augustinians knew this very well, as the chronicles of their monastery testify. The king only graciously agreed, at the insistence of some clergy, to build a church..." ^{[9, p. 26]}. Nevertheless, the Augustinians reverently treated the legend, it was a question of the prestige of their monastery and the basis for a special hope for royal patronage. Vanloo, fulfilling the order, of course, follows the instructions of customers and does not care about the historical truth. The solemn vertical composition is divided diagonally. In the lower left corner there is a kneeling Louis XIII surrounded by his entourage, among whom one can, in particular, recognize Cardinal Richelieu. This figure is very important, because in the absence of the king, it was Richelieu who led the siege of La Rochelle. The king holds in his hand a sheet with a picture of the facade of the church. In the upper right corner, the Mother of God sitting on the clouds with a baby surrounded by the forces of heaven, holds out a palm branch to Louis – a symbol of the world to come after the victory. A very curious detail is the figure of the fallen – apparently a Protestant, one of those who, with the support of England, held the siege of the city for fourteen months. The victory of Louis XIII is also presented as a victory of the Catholic Church. The artist and the customer, obviously, came to a complete understanding regarding the program of the work, which, of course, had to be discussed between the painter and representatives of the monastery brethren, approved by the abbot. The remaining six paintings of the cycle, having a slightly lower height, were also located in the altar of the church, on both sides of this iconic composition.

Orders from monasteries were often more intimate and concerned the history of specific fraternities and their outstanding representatives. So, in 1730, the Franciscans of Paris established a holiday in honor of the holy monks of their order, Jacques de Lamarche (1393-1476) and Francis Solano (1549-1610), who had been canonized a few years earlier. One of the obvious miracles of Jacques de Lamarche is considered to be the healing of King Ferdinand I of Naples in 1474 . The image of this particular scene was commissioned by P.-P.-A. Robert de Seri (1686-1733) (Saint-Merry Church, Paris). In front of us is almost a genre canvas. Jacques de Lamarche, dressed in a Franciscan cassock, bends over the royal bed, from which, according to the word of the miracle worker, the cured monarch rises. The composition is enlivened by the presence of the entourage, marveling at the miraculous healing, and the figure of the guard, dismissing the curious, trying to enter the chambers.

The canvas paired with this painting depicts Francis Solano, a Spanish missionary who preached Christianity in South America. Solano is depicted performing the rite of baptism over the Indians, who can only be recognized by the feathers on the headdress belonging to one of them.

These works are primarily close to genre painting. There were many similar monastic orders, they were made, of course, not only by Parisian, but also by provincial monasteries. Perhaps not the most famous, but still respected masters, such as Robert de Seri, a pupil of Jean Jouvenet and Pierre-Jacques Caza, a prot?g? of Cardinal de Rohan, were involved in their performance.

Artists and portraits of clergymen were painted. When it comes to the most notable representatives, their images are usually created on the same conditions as portraits of the aristocracy. It is curious that not only masters of the Catholic faith could write them. In 1773, Protestant Alexander Roslin received an order for a portrait of a high-ranking clergyman of the Catholic Church, combining religious service with secular duties. We are talking about the image of the Abbot Joseph-Marie Terre (1715-1778) (1773, Versailles). The Abbot was not only the Comptroller General of Finance, but also the Director and Administrator of the royal buildings. In 1773, Terre was experiencing the last rise of his career. Back in 1757, he became, with the support of Madame Pompadour, an adviser to the court on resolving the most difficult diplomatic issues. It was Terre who contributed to the expulsion of the Jesuits from France in 1759. Ten years later, becoming the controller of finance, Terre did everything possible to save France from the economic crisis, including such unpopular measures as raising taxes, reducing various payments, pensions and remuneration. At the same time, the abbot's interest in the arts led to the fact that in 1773 he received the post of Director of royal buildings, from which the Marquis de Marigny resigned. This made Terre the head of the Academy of Painting and Sculpture. Of course, the Academy immediately needed a portrait of a new Director. It was the Academy that insisted on the candidacy of Alexander Roslin.

On Roslin's canvas, Terre is depicted in ecclesiastical vestments, because, as reported by the "Secret Memoirs" of Bashomon, "rumors have resumed that Mr. Abbot Terre can claim to receive the Roman purple (cardinal's mantle. – E.A.)" ^{[12, T. 4. c. 227]}, and therefore it was obviously profitable for the model emphasize your status as a clergyman in the portrait.

The abbot's purple robe is complemented by a blue ribbon of the Order of the Holy Spirit. Terre is sitting in a chair by the desk. In one hand he holds a pen, and in the other a royal order appointing the artist Chardin an annual pension of 4,000 livres. The choice of the document, it is believed, was due to "the desire of the Academy to honor the measures taken by the director to make payments (to artists. – E. A) accurate and to make them in cash, or the desire of the model to emphasize its own efficiency and diligence in management" ^{[1, p. 156]}. As for the interpretation of the model's face, this is one of the most successful portraits of Roslin, rising to the heights of true psychologism. The predatory face with a long nose and an unkind expression of the eyes corresponds to the characteristic given to the abbot by the author of the "Secret Memoirs": "... this monster, hated by the whole of France, causing her shame for having produced him" ^{[10, p. 190]}. Already in 1774, the abbot resigned, which will cause the oblivion of the portrait, which in itself is an outstanding work of art. Due to the fact that the canvas was ordered only in September 1773, it did not get into the Salon this year. And in 1775, the abbot was already in disgrace and could hardly hope to see his image at an academic exhibition. Nevertheless, it is curious that a Protestant artist could get an order for a portrait of a clergyman of such a high rank. Roslin, a native of Sweden, naturalized in France and became a member of the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture, did everything possible to get used to the Parisian artistic environment and have success with the capital's noble customer. Back in the Salon of 1765, Roslin exhibited portraits of the daughters of King Adelaide and Victoria, and in 1769, along with a portrait of the Archbishop of Reims, a portrait of Minister Bertin appears. In fact, Roslin's receipt of such orders, including for the image of clergy, suggests that the master, despite his confessional affiliation, was unconditionally accepted by the metropolitan environment.

There were also chamber images of prelates and monks, which sometimes have a very curious attribution history. This is, in particular, the portrait of the Carmelite attributed to M.-K. de Latour (Louvre, without exact date). The model, contrary to evidence, began to be identified as a Carmelite, because in her facial features they saw a resemblance to Louis XV's daughter Louise, who took vows in 1771 and subsequently became the abbess of the female Carmelite monastery in Saint-Denis ^{[8, p. 106]}. This attribution can be disputed, if only because the model is not wearing a brown habit of Carmelites, but a beige one, complemented by a black veil – this is how the Augustinian nuns dressed. So, this is hardly the daughter of Louis XV. Nevertheless, she is an educated, probably noble-born girl, a representative of the elite of the monastic class. Daughters of noble families, leaving the world, did not always break all ties with the past way of life. They continued to maintain relations with relatives, and were interested in literature and the arts. So, the heroine of this work is leafing through a music notebook placed on the music stand. Nuns of noble origin could well admit portrait painters approved and recommended by the family. The portraits they created could be intended as a gift to relatives and friends who remained in the world.

So, there are a large number of works commissioned by the clergy for one reason or another. The work of artists, both the first row and the more modest ones, was very intense for the church. Religion was an obligatory part of the life of any person of the XVIII century, and artists were no exception. They had their own parish churches, which could be useful also because of their professional qualities. Academicians received regular orders for religious paintings and portraits. Large-scale and multi-part painting cycles intended for significant sacred structures were a collective creation, became an important experience of creating an ensemble, working in a team. At the same time, the prices known to us for these canvases show that the work for the church was paid somewhat lower than a private order. Prices could even be lower than those that the Academy set for canvases of a similar genre and size. The benefit brought by the work of such a plan was something else: the opportunity to do a God-pleasing deed and at the same time present their works to the public for permanent viewing, to gain a reputation as a master of religious painting, to demonstrate their abilities to the historical genre.

The monastery order could be both significant and very intimate. The relatively closed monastic life, the veneration of local saints and a sense of the significance of local events often prompted the ordering of works whose plot was not clear to everyone. However, such a work had to function in a closed monastic community.

As for the portraits, they differed little in their essence from the portraits of the aristocracy. There are found both ceremonial and semi-parade portraits of high-ranking clergymen, as well as chamber canvases depicting ordinary representatives of the black and white clergy.

It is impossible not to notice that in the XVIII century the church was not the main customer, and the church order was the main engine of artistic progress. Now it is a customer of the "second plan", for whom original and innovative works are rarely created. However, it is, so to speak, a stable and constant customer who requires high-quality artistic products, a reliable partner of the Parisian painter.