Cuadernos Dieciochistas (May 2018)
The Apotheosis of Hercules by François Lemoyne, its intention and context. A possible interpretation based on French traditional politics
Abstract
In opposition to some trends of historiography, that describe the painting of this period as pleasant and ornamental, we try to show how this work represent otherwise the image of the power that Louis XV and his principal ministry Fleury had. They try, through this work, to reinforce the principles of French monarchy. In this politically convulsed environment, where the Jansenist, the parliaments and some parts of nobility were questioning the traditional basis of sovereignty, Lemoyne proposed, through allegory and centered in the figure of Hercules –a frequent iconography element in the European courts–, and also, with the close collaboration of the duke d’Antin and Fleury, the Apotheosis of the French monarchy. The objective is to establish the intentionality of this work through this historical context and compare the changes between the first project of 1730 and the final project.
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