III.1. 2. THE MILESTONES AND THEIR MEANINGS

MENU: 3.1.2. The milestones' meanings

BY PASSING IN FRONT OF HIS GRANDFATHER'S AND FATHER'S INNOVATIONS LOUIS XIV'S CORTEGE HIGHLIGHTS THE MONARCHY'S GROWING STRENGTH

Henri IV (1585-1610), founder of the Bourbon dynasty, comes to power after a generation of "wars of religion," which more deeply were those of anachronistic forces and nascent capitalists. His victory was that of Protestant entrepreneurs, though his stronger power meant control of them.*

*History from Fresh Perspectives explains these factors here and here.

     Henri IV Enters Paris on March 24, 1594 by François Gérard / zoom 

The ruin in the background recalls the wars' devastation. 

His urban inventions highlight power. They are the first...

• Straight street (rue de Birague).

• Royal place (place des Vosges). 

• Site meant to attract crowds (the pont Neuf bridge).

• Secular statue, of himself on horseback.

 

His son, Louis XIII (1610-1643), ends Protestant independence and exerts control over the provinces:

The Surrender of La Rochelle, anonyme, 17th century / zoom

He grants the land for a church whose architecture and decor proclaim that obedience to the king is necessary for salvation (first stone, 1626).

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Louis XIV himself (1643-1715) will create...

     The Doge of Genoa Makes Reparation to Louis XIV on May 15 1685, by Claude-Guy Hallé, 1715 / zoom

• The Louvre's eastern facade and courtyards (shown already, here and here).

• The monumental arches at the Saint-Martin and Saint-Denis gates.

• The complex that culminates with the dome of the Invalides, meant to be his mausoleum (more later). 

• The space that begins at the Louvre, morphs with the horizon and is one of the planet's most influential urban designs (more later).

In brief

• Paris's first straight street and point of focus

• The place that is ancestor of all

• The successive statues of place des Vosges   

• A church that changes the way to salvation

• A royal statue for a bridge  

• The king among his people
  

   

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Paris's first straight street and point of focus

PARIS'S FIRST STRAIGHT STREET AND POINT OF FOCUS

THE PARADE'S FIRST MILESTONE: A SHORT, STRAIGHT STREET THAT LEADS THE EYE TO A STATUE OF A KING ON HORSEBACK  

The perspective gives onto a statue of Louis XIII. Why not of Henri IV, under whom the place* was built? Puzzles are often revealing: Please click, and for this one, continue.

*For the italics, please read on.

Rue Royale leads to place Royale (rue de Birague and place des Vosges) 

The space that leads to the royal tombs at Saint-Denis inspired this first straight street, and their mausoleum was the first point of focus: 

The straight line symbolizes stability and order,

which kings guarantee.

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The place that is ancestor of all

THE "PLACE" THAT IS ANCESTOR OF ALL

PLACE DES VOSGES, A SYMBOL OF MONARCHY  

All important Parisian places* copy or adapt its design, as do certain provincial towns and foreign capitals. 

* Places are urban spaces that express political power. As the word "square" is inadequate, these pages use the French term with italics.

 Place Royale in 1709, no more information / zoom

First called place Royale,* it is so amiably grandiose that the New York Times chose it to announce the European Union's reopening after the covid lockdowns.  

*The name became "place des Vosges" in honor of the first region to send taxes to the Revolutionary government (in 1791).

Issue of April 26, 2021

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Earlier open spaces (markets, cemeteries, the space in front of City Hall) had appeared spontaneously. This was the first that was created deliberately.

(Begun in 1605, inaugurated in 1612)

Paris in 1530 / zoom

It was built on empty land at the city's edge, which a demolished palace extended (Henri II's widow tore down the palace where he had died, in 1559).

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Its design symbolizes empowered monarchy: 

The Carrousel at Place Royale in 1612 by Matthäus Merian / zoom

Inauguration (in 1612)

• The first straight street, glimpsed in the background, leads to the "king's pavilion:"

This photo and the next, Carolyn Ristau

Rue de Birague (originally rue Royale)

Henri IV above the entrance (added at the Restoration)

• The symbolism of the place itself: 

Zoom

• A public space toward which the streets converge: The king is at the heart of all.   

• Straight streets: The king assures stability and order. 

• Homogeneous facades: All are subject to the king.  

• A power symbol is in the center: Until the Revolution, it is an equestrian statue of the reigning king.

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It had no statue until 1643:

Please read on.

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The successive statues of place des Vosges

THE SUCCESSIVE STATUES OF PLACE DES VOSGES

FROM AUTHORITY'S SYMBOL TO A WORK THAT A TREE TRUNK HOLDS UP   

Prime Minister Richelieu's last gift to Louis XIII was the equestrian statue that appeared in place Royale thirty years after it was built. 

(In 1643) 

Zoom

• Made of bronze, it was melted down for cannons during the Revolution as were the statues of the four other places (in August 1792):

Zoom (please scroll down)

 Zoom

 Place des Victoires

          The National Guard Leaves for the Army by Leon Cogniet, 1836 / zoom

The revolutionary tricolor replaces the pont Neuf statue (in September 1792).

 The arm outstretched in command of Louis XV's statue

place de la Concorde, 

is the only element that stayed intact when the statue was toppled.  

When the Bastille was taken it was given a prisoner,

whom that king had left there 40 years before.

-- Ninety-three by Victor Hugo, ed.1979, p. 153

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The copy we see was made during the Restoration:* A tree trunk keeps the horse from falling over.

*A constitutional monarchy that nobles dominate (in 1815-30)

Louis XIII by Jean-Pierre Cortot, 1820's

The challenge of equestrian statues: The horse must raise a hoof

and not fall down.

•  Jean-Pierre Cortot's works are conventional but competent. This one adorns the Arc de Triomphe:

Zoom

• The regime had spent most of its budget on the statue for pont Neuf, and Cortot was obliged to use stone instead of bronze. The heavier weight made the work more difficult (a work in bronze is made from a mold whose inside is empty).  

 -- Philippe Schmitt-Kummerlee, Carnavalet Museum, personal communication

• A government that offered only "masses and masked balls" (George Sand) to a public used to immense victories or massive defeats, soon seemed boring. Cortot could have insisted that adequate funds be granted, or have refused the commission: The tree trunk suggests that he shared the public's indifference, and only took the job for pay.    

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Louis XVIII said of his relationship with the French, "I am like a woman who is not very attractive, whom reason forces one to love."

-- Madame Royale by André Castelot, 1962 (in French)

The statue suggests a "pale monarchy"
for which the king himself 

does not seek the means for a satisfactory image,

while the vigor of the original work

shows the start of monarchy's Golden Age.

-- "Pale monarchy:"

  René Chateaubriand, royalist writer,

 Memories from beyond the grave (« Mémoires d'outre tomb »), 1848

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A church that changes the way to salvation

A CHURCH THAT CHANGES THE WAY TO SALVATION

NEXT ALONG THE ROUTE, A CHURCH WHERE THE KING REPLACES JESUS

(SAINT PAUL-SAINT LOUIS) 

The speed of construction shows its importance: Saint Eustache, the last "Gothic" church started almost a century before, was still unfinished when its worksite began.

(Saint-Louis, 1626-41; Saint-Eustache, 1532-1632)

Adapted from a plan of 1734 / zoom

Toward 1820 / zoom

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Its links to monarchy: 

• Louis XIII grants the terrain and comes with the queen to hear the first sermon, which Cardinal Richelieu preaches.

• The embalmed hearts of Louis XIII and Louis XIV remain there until the Revolution. 

• Louis XIII is shown twice, near the altar and at the entrance:

• The double name: Napoleon added "Saint-Paul" to the original "Saint-Louis" to lessen the link with monarchy.

All French kings descend from Saint Louis, a stupefying advantage. But the preceding dynasty (the Valois) did not emphasize it, because it lacked the power to live up to such an ancestor.

All the Bourbon kings are named "Louis." So are many women, bastards, cousins — 

• Anne-Marie Louise, who fired on the royal troops; 
• Louis-Antoine, eldest of Louis XIV's legitimized sons; 
• Louis XVI's sons, Louis-Joseph and Louis-Charles;
• Louis-Philippe, head of the Bourbon junior branch, whom the royalist Chateaubriand calls only Philippe because he is a usurper.

Louis XX is head of today's Bourbons of Spain. His name forbids him from residing in France. 

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The church marks the end of Gothic architecture and start of baroque: Comparing Notre-Dame and Saint-Louis shows the tie between tangible aspects and message. 

• Surroundings

By clustering up to the cathedral, medieval houses put the church at the heart of the community; aligned with other buildings along the street, Saint-Louis is one construction among others: 

Internet, computer-generated image

• Eternity

To see Notre-Dame as whole one had to come close to the facade and peer up. Then it loomed over daily life, reminding of immortality. To do so at Saint-Louis, one had to stand in the street and risk being run over.  

 Zoom

Medieval stained glass windows brought a colored light that gleamed through the gloom, foreshadowing the next world, an impression that was much more powerful without electricity. In the 17th century, daylight enhanced secular grandeur.  

US Glass Magazine

• The Resurrection

The entry to Gothic churches is in the west, the chevet (the sanctuary) in the east: One passes from the setting sun and death to the rising son and resurrection. But Saint-Louis faces north.

• Heaven or earth? 

Gothic architecture reaches toward the sky. Baroque domes join heaven and earth.  

Claude Abron

• The Last Judgement and Salvation

Last Judgments are sculpted over the entries of Gothic churches. Multitudes, which originally were brightly painted, surround Jesus. All are invited to enter and be saved:

 Internet, photographer not named

Stained glass windows at Notre-Dame (above) or frescoes (here) continue the impression of a people.

Ramsay Casadesus Rawson

   Basilica di Santa Caterina d'Alessandria in Galatina, Italy, late 14th century

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Saint-Louis is about the monarchy, not Jesus. 

• The multitude is gone, austerity highlights power and at the summit the king (Saint Louis / Louis IX, toward 1250) stands at the summit alone and wears a crown instead of a halo.

         Carolyn Ristau 

                                        Carlton Perrett

• The painting of Louis XIII springs out at the entry of the nave, but the crucifix and Crown of Thorns before which he kneels are almost invisible:

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For the kings themselves, being God's representative brought desolation. 

Louis XIV found the role "delicious" but it overwhelmed his father and successors. 

Louis XIII thought himself inadequate to the task, a feeling that contributed to his stuttering and ill health. Louis XV hated the public existence royalty imposed and by avoiding it hastened its demise. Louis XVI's library shows his vocation of science.  

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Saint-Louis took up the Rome's style of Counter-Reformation and became the model for the churches of its day:

Il Gésu / zoom

Rome's first Baroque church, begun in 1574

 

      Saint-Thomas d'Aquin, first stone 1632 ; Saint-Roch, 1653; Saint-Sulpice 1646

With no eternity, no Last Judgement, 
a crucifix one can hardly see

and emphasis on the king instead of Jesus,
the new church announces
that salvation depends on obeying the king.

These churches herald

the "Alliance of Throne and Altar."

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Next,

A royal statue for a bridge