Political Ideology and Artistic Theory in Poussin's Decoration of the Grand Gallery of the Louvre

Begun in 1641 and abortively terminated in 1643, Nicolas Poussin's decoration of the Grande Galerie of the Louvre comprised three levels: cityscapes, inherited from an earlier scheme (1626), scenes in fresco of the Life of Hercules, and on the ceiling, plaster casts from the Arch of Constantine and the Column of Trajan to form a life of the emperor Trajan (A.D. 53-117). The three levels are united in reflecting the ideology of absolute kingship expressed in images borrowed from the emperors of Rome and the Holy Roman emperors, particularly the Hapsburgs. The Bourbon monarchs, Henri IV and Louis XIII, claimed semi-sacredotal powers and thus to be divinely selected. Like the images of the medieval imperium, the iconography of these French kings stressed their role in the creation of a Trans-European peace and harmony and a golden age of culture under royal control. In the decoration of the Grande Galerie, the unitary and pacific aspects of the French monarchy are reflected in the cityscapes, representing France's allegiance to the divinely inspired Bourbons. Through the Trajanic reliefs, Louis XIII is associated with an imperial predecessor. In the Hercules cycle, Poussin stressed themes connected both with the absolute monarchy and the particular political concerns of the day. The earliest scenes of the Hercules cycle treated the miraculous conception and birth of the hero, underlining the divine protection of Hercules and, by extension, the king. In scenes illustrating the Education of Hercules, Poussin placed equal emphasis on both military and liberal arts for the formation of the hero's character. In scenes I designated Preludes to the Labors, Poussin alluded to the king as Pontifex Maximus and the virtue of concordia, themes essential to the ideology of absolutism. In the Labors themselves, Poussin referred to virtues of Vigilance and Fortitude, connected with absolutism, and the theme of succession, necessary for the stability of the dynasty and state. Hitherto unexplained passages in Poussin's defense of the scheme for the gallery are shown to be references to the three parts of Painting and Poetry: Invention, Design or Disposition, and Color or Ornament. Moreover a relationship is suggested between Poussin's defense of the gallery and literary and artistic debates of the day concerning the relationship of decoration to epic poetry and tragedy and the applicability of Aristotle's unities to poetry and painting.