Czére Andrea szerk.: A Szépművészeti Múzeum közleményei 104. (Budapest, 2006)

MIRIAM SZÖCS: Baroque Revival: Nineteenth-Century Small Bronzes ol Louis XIV

BAROQUE REVIVAL NINETEENTH-CENTURY SMALL BRONZES OF LOUIS X!V MIRIAM SZŐCS When Bernini (1598-1680) travelled to Paris in 1665 at the invitation of Louis XIV (1643-1705), he also received the commission for the equestrian monument of the king. The marble sculpture transported to France in 1685, however, did not win the ruler's liking, and thus, François Girardon (1628-1715) re-carved it into a likeness of Marcus Curtius, which was installed in the park of Versailles.

1 In spite of his lack of success, nevertheless Bernini's equestrian statue was the first in the series of monuments that, in the service of royal propaganda, championed the greatness of the Sun King. Following Bernini, about 1670 Charles Le Brun (1619-1690) received a commission to design a Louis XIV monument intended for the courtyard of the Louvre. The artist, whose ideas we know from his drawings, was inspired first and foremost by Bernini's Roman fountains: thus, the king's horse reared on a high cliff, allegorical figures lying before him. Girardon was commissioned with the execution of the monument; preparations were drawn out for years, however, and just as Bernini's equestrian statue, remained unrealised. The death of Le Brun's patron, Colbert in 1683 interrupted the work, since his successor and previous rival, Louvois, no longer supported the plans of his predecessor. With the conquest of a clear, classicising tendency, Le Brun's sophisticated baroque version was pushed increasingly into the background: together with artistic taste, the method of political representation had changed as well, which no longer accommodated the plans of Le Brun.In the years following 1685 French cities practically competed with one another for the installation of equestrian monuments proclaiming the glory of the Sun King. In Paris and the provincial cities between 1685 and 1686, the preparations for eleven statues of Louis XIV were launched. Behind the seemingly voluntary efforts, however, lurked the will of the king's retinue, and through the ecclesiastic and noble superiors close to the king's court, they persuaded