Atelier des Velins du Roi, circa 1715

King Louis XIV exhorting the young Dauphin, with the insignia of the French monarchy on a cushion, flanked by reliefs with allegories of charity and hope; the lower section with an exhortation of the King to the Dauphin; in a fine Louis XIV frame

Details

Atelier des Velins du Roi, circa 1715
King Louis XIV exhorting the young Dauphin, with the insignia of the French monarchy on a cushion, flanked by reliefs with allegories of charity and hope; the lower section with an exhortation of the King to the Dauphin; in a fine Louis XIV frame
inscribed 'Adore Dieu, Createur de l'Univers, & l'ayme de toute ton ame, de t'avoir fait naistre Catholique, Apostolique & Romain. Honore ceux qui t'ont mis au monde. Sois humain & bienfaisant tous les hommes. Ayme tes Proches, & tes Amys: mais plus que tout, ayme ta Patrie, & procure le bien public. Respecte les Gens de bien. Eloigne de toy les mechans, & reconnois les bien faits. Connois-toy toy mesme. Exerce moderement ton corps: mais applique fortement ton esprit. Ecoute tout. Parle peu. Regl tes pensees, & pse tes paroles. Abhorre le Menteur & le mensonge. Ne faits jamais de railleries picquantes. Pardonne beaucoup aux autres, rien a toy. Sois plutost ennemy de tes vices, que censeur de ceux d'autruy. Songe que le repentir fuit de pres la faute, & que le premier fruiet des bonnes actions, est le plaisir de les avoir faites. Ne prends jamais de mauvaises voyes, pour arriver a une bonne fin. Tiens les Flateurs pour tes plus grands ennemis, & pour tes meilleurs amis, ceux qui te voyent, plutost pour toy, que pour eux mesmes. Sois gal, autant dans la prosperite, que dans l'adversit. Prends conseil, mais forme tes resolutions toy mesme: Sois lent a les prendre, mais prompt a les executer. Sois ferme & non pas opiniastre: & si tu as a changer d'avis, que ce soit par raison, & non par legerete. Desire ce qui t'est propre. Supporte ce qui t'arrive. Sois le maistre de tes passions, & non 'esclave. Possede les grandeurs & les richesses, sans en estre possed. Ayme la belle gloire. Ne passe point de jour sans faire du bien a quelqu'un; le temps qui n'est point employ aux bonnes actions, est un temps perdu. Ayme la justice sur toutes choses, & rends toy protecteur de ceux qui souffrent persecution. N'apprehende la mort, ny ne la souhaite; mais croy que qui survit a sa conscience & son honneur trop vescu.'
pen and brown ink, bodycolor heightened with gold on vellum--oval
The gouche 16 x 11in. (412 x 291mm.); the frame 33 x 16.7/8in. (85 x 43cm.)

Lot Essay

In 1663, King Louis XIV asked Charles Perrault, a writer now celebrated for his fairy tales, but then a protg of Colbert, to submit a list of authors to be asked to found a new academy dedicated to the promotion of the King's glory, not only through various inscriptions to be incised on offical monuments but through all means of propaganda. Any device, motto, insignia or emblem was to be devised by la Petite Acadmie, later known as the Acadmie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres, which assembled twice a week at the Htel de Baurru on the Rue Vivienne, Colbert's residence in Paris. On the inaugural speech to the Acadmie, the King declared 'Je vois confie la chose qui m'est la plus prcieuse, ma gloire'. Throughout his reign, medals, prints and iconographical programs for tapestries were invented to enhance the King's public image. The Manufacture des Gobelins, for example, was founded at the same time as the Academy and Charles le Brun was put in charge of illustrating in his cartoons the various programs he received from this assembly. Another, but lesser known manufactory was the 'Atelier des Velins du Roi' at the Invalides, a workshop of talented artists who specialized in painting with gouache on vellum, images heightened with gold. This tradition, which sprang from medieval illuminations, had developed into a genre aimed at representing flowers and animals for botanical or zoological purposes, as found in the works of Nicolas Robert, or more frequently to illustrate emblematic treatises of an amorous or political nature, such as La Guirlande de Julie. The best workshop had originally worked for Gaston, Duc d'Orlans, brother of King Louis XIII. When Louis XIV inherited the collection of Velins, he recruited a team of artists and put them to work in collaboration with the Acadmie des inscriptions des Belles Lettres. Thus, throughout his reign, the Atelier des Invalides produced works such as the present lot, which unite images and text. The vellum, once finished, was richly framed and presented by the King to the courtiers whom he wanted to honor with testimony of his wisdom.

Framed in a moulded, stippled and acanthus-enriched frame, carved in the early 17th-century antique or Roman manner promoted by Jean-Barbet (d.1654), 'Architecte du Roi' and author of Livre d'architecture, D'autels et de Chemines, Paris, 1632. Laurels and palms are tied in a scrolled ribbon-guilloche, while husk garlands are suspended from a scrolled, fretted and foliated cartouche displaying the 'L' cypher of Louis XIV ensigned by the Royal crown. Laurels and oak branches are clasped at the base by a voluted cartouche displaying the fleur-de-lys badge of France.