florida state university college of visual arts, theatre and dance ...

Jesuits to return to Paris as long as members of the order adhered to the strict regulations
enforced by the crown. 99 By making the law solely contingent upon royal authority, Henri IV
acted outside the boundaries of the Paris Parlement and strengthened his sovereign rights.
Henri IV’s treatment of the Jesuits, in which he set the limits for the Society’s
participation in France and rewarded the fathers with royal support as a means to expand his
authority, surely influenced Louis XIII’s own understanding of these matters. To show that the
Society’s success in France continued to depend upon the king, in 1627 following the Santarelli
Affair, Louis provided additional royal funds to assist with construction of Saint-Louis-des-
Jésuites. The monetary gift was coupled with the king’s participation in the ceremonial placing
of the first stone and the commemoration of the event with medals. By becoming the primary
benefactor, Louis XIII proclaimed that the church could only be completed with royal support.
His financial gifts also initiated a patron-client exchange, creating a situation in which the Jesuits
would feel obligated to respond to the king’s support. 100 Reinforcing the king’s financial control
over the Society were the medals, visual testaments to Louis’s authority to rule without the threat
of papal interference. The fathers at the Parisian maison professe understood Louis XIII’s
actions, and they embarked on an artistic program to decorate the interior of the church that
affirmed their loyalty to the French monarchy.
Interior Decorative Program of Saint-Louis-des-Jésuites
Saint-Louis-des-Jésuites’ original decorative program had a dual focus, reflecting
traditional Jesuit themes, but it also paid tribute to St. Louis and the French monarchy. 101 The
two visual systems often overlapped, merging Gallican symbolism with references to the Society
of Jesus, most notably in the liturgical heart of the church, the high altar and dome. 102 One area
in which the focus on France stands out is in the transepts, where four paintings depicting scenes
from the life of St. Louis are prominently placed on the lateral walls (fig. 41). While the transept
chapels were originally dedicated to the Jesuit Saints Ignatius and Francis Xavier, the prominent
position, large scale, and subject matter of the images make them the most obvious expression of
the Society’s effort to honor French kingship. 103 This act of paying tribute to the patron saint of
the church allowed the fathers to visually demonstrate their loyalty to the French kingship,
functioning as a response to their patron’s generosity.
101