Pourquoi Marly ?

Abstract

For twenty-five years there has been a resurgence of interest in the Château de Marly among academics, French and international. A rich literature, diverse and multilingual, the result of considerable research, has today developed and enabled the renewal of the knowledge we have of Marly. We are witnessing a profound rediscovery of the site, and Marly-le-Roi is an essential key in understanding the evolution of both the forms of power and French art. Art, politics and economics, combined and staged in Marly with force and elegance, have deeply affected France and had a lasting influence on Europe. By rebuilding Versailles, Louis XIV affirmed his historical lineage; by the construction of Marly, halfway between Versailles and Saint-Germain-en-Laye, he sought to emphasize the dynastic logic between these three palaces — and this desire is reflected especially in the iconography of the sculpture at Marly. The royal axis thus created reflects a spatial dynamics that is today necessary in understanding the French classicism of the seventeenth century.

Keywords

• Marly-le-Roi
• Saint-Germain-en-Laye
• Versailles
• axe royal
• classicisme