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

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
This study examines early seventeenth-century Parisian churches supported by French
monarchs, concentrating on the manner in which the buildings illuminate the political goals of
the patrons. Specifically it focuses on the reign of King Louis XIII (1610-1643), a period during
which the king’s mother Queen Maria de’ Medici ruled as regent from 1610 to 1617 (figs. 1 and
2). During Louis XIII’s reign twenty-one new places of worship were constructed in Paris,
making it one of the most active phases of church building in the entire history of the French
capital. Of the twenty-one churches built during this period, ten received support from the
current monarch. Scholars traditionally attribute the volume of construction to the impact of the
Catholic Reformation and the subsequent establishment of numerous reformed religious groups
in Paris. 1 While the religious renewal that swept France in the early seventeenth century
certainly fueled the construction of churches, the factors prompting Louis XIII and Maria de’
Medici to support such a high number of buildings remains unexplored in the literature. By
investigating the architecture, painting, and sculpture of these churches in tandem with the
historical and political context of the period, we can understand how the buildings took on
additional meaning beyond reflecting the devout Catholic state. Instead of the monarchs only
using the buildings as symbols of their religious beliefs, Maria de’ Medici and Louis XIII
supported the churches as a means of pursuing their political objectives, goals that varied
depending upon who was in control of the throne. Specifically, Maria de’ Medici became a
patron of ecclesiastical institutions to promote her authority while demonstrating her support of
the Catholic faith, its institutions, and its allies. In contrast, Louis XIII advocated the
sovereignty of the state, contributing to churches that honored French kingship and the
monarch’s divine right to rule through their architecture, painting, and sculpture.
1