Une nouvelle grâce : la peinture religieuse de Charles de La Fosse face à la crise de conscience européenne

Abstract

This article reexamines Charles de La Fosse’s religious paintings in relation to the notion of grace, according to its definition both as divine aid and ineffable charm. Divine and aesthetic grace were intimately linked in the early modern period, but by the end of the seventeenth century their alliance was becoming untenable. Drawing on a constellation of contemporary theological, artistic and rhetorical debates, this study explores how La Fosse’s religious paintings expose the increasingly fraught interactions between the two conceptions of grace. It argues that as a result of their engagement with the problem of grace, these paintings became an unexpected site for the emergence of modern artistic autonomy.

Keywords

• Charles de La Fosse
• grace
• secularization
• color
• religious painting