Christiaan Huygens – A family affair - Proeven van Vroeger

Exceptional as his scientific work is, there was more to his elevation in position than a
judgment based on purely scientific merit (as was the case when he fell from grace at the same
court). The brand-new Académie des Sciences, with Christiaan Huygens one of its founding
members, was, especially in its first decades, very intricately connected to the court at
Versailles and was dominated by rules of courtly patronage – rather than those of a “modern’”
scientific institution. 395
In this final chapter I would like to add a dimension to this view by exploring the more
socio-political side of the story. Christiaan Huygens Jr. was not made a member of the
Académie all of a sudden nor was this the first time that he had to do with Louis XIV or his first
minister, Jean-Baptiste Colbert. I argue that Christiaan Jr. was involved in a process of gift
giving through which he became increasingly attached to the French King (or rather, his first
minister Colbert). Starting with a generous stipend in 1663, the King continued with the
granting of an important privilege (1665) and, in a final gesture, he made Christiaan a member
of the Académie des Sciences in 1666. It was not just the name of Christiaan that created this
successful patronage-relationship, however, it was also the name and promotional work of his
father Constantijn Sr. that made a substantial contribution to the acknowledgment of
Christiaan Jr.’s work and person. It was no coincidence that Constantijn Sr. was at the French
Court – involved in intensive negotiations with the highest courtiers, including the King –
while Christiaan’s courtly elevation took place. Christiaan’s father took every opportunity to
promote his son’s work and talent and Christiaan could take profit from his father’s good
position at the French Court. Thus it was appropriate that Constantijn Sr. formally expressed
his gratitude to the King and Colbert when Christiaan was made a member of the Académie –
gifts to Christiaan Huygens were also gifts to the Huygens family.
i. First moves – Christiaan Jr.’s regale
On September 22, 1663, Jean Chapelain reacted on a letter of Christiaan Jr.’s friend
Nikolaas Heinsius, writing:
395 STURDY, D. J. (1995) Science and social status : the members of the Academie des sciences 1666-1750,
Woodbridge, Suffolk, UK ; Rochester, NY, USA, Boydell Press. Chapter 3, 4; and STROUP, A. (1990)
A company of scientists : botany, patronage, and community at the Seventeenth-century Parisian Royal Academy of
Sciences, Berkeley, University of California Press. p23-6, chapter 3.
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