Representations of power in seventeenth-century Europe (part 1)

In the seventeenth century, art and power enjoyed a symbiotic relationship. Political leaders understood the emotional impact that painting and architecture might have on their subjects, and they generously sponsored leading artists of the day. Meanwhile, artists had few alternatives but to seek the patronage of the great. Except in the Low Countries (in the arts as in so much else Europe's most modern society), the public market for art was limited; their best hope for financial success was to paint for kings, aristocrats, and the church. As we saw in the case of Spain, that situation did not mean artistic conservatism. All across Europe, ruling groups had a taste for sophisticated, innovative art.

These are some pictures of leading political figures in seventeenth-century England and France, whose doings we've been following over the last couple of weeks. From England, the two great antagonists of the English Revolution, king Charles I and the parliamentary leader Oliver Cromwell. (Though an ineffectual king, Charles was a brilliant patron of the arts; the portrait is by the Flemish artist Anthony van Dyck, from whom Charles purchased a number of paintings.)




Finally, some leading characters from France. First, our friend Cardinal Richelieu, here presented in full the grandeur of his ecclesiastical robes by the French painter Philippe de Champaigne:




Then the king whom he served, Louis XIII, here presented by the same artist in armor-- appropriately, since Louis was the last French king who regularly led his troops in battle.




(Source for all reproductions: Wikimedia, under a Creative Commons License.)