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

has been the focus of a wealth of art historical scholarship, including several studies that
recognize her support of religious institutions in Paris. Among these is Géraldine Johnson’s
work, which as part of a larger study of the queen’s patronage of the arts portrays the aid
provided by Maria de’ Medici to churches as a function of her promotion of Catholicism in
France. 12 Additionally Anne Bertrand’s dissertation on Philippe de Champaigne and his patrons
considers the artist’s work for Maria de’ Medici, focusing on the Carmelite Convent in the
Faubourg Saint-Jacques. 13 As part of the section on the Carmelites, which seeks to demonstrate
that the royal patronage was linked to seventeenth-century political and religious strategies,
Bertrand acknowledges Maria de’ Medici’s support of churches by briefly discussing several of
the other religious institutions favored by the queen, including the Filles du Calvaire, also
covered in this study. 14 Along with other recent studies, these works have shaped my
understanding of the queen as a patron of the arts, emphasizing the need of Maria de’ Medici to
legitimize her position during the regency and her desire to regain her authority following her
fall in 1617. 15 Despite this scholarship acknowledging the queen’s support of churches, the bulk
of research continues to focus on commissions related to paintings, most especially Peter Paul
Rubens’s Medici cycle (1621-1625), leaving open the need for an investigation into the subject
covered here. 16
Scholars have long noted the art patronage of Cardinal Richelieu, and in addition to his
interest in painting and sculpture, several studies have investigated his support of architecture. 17
Among these Paolo Berdini’s article, “The Sorbonne and Richelieu: Theological Controversies
and Urban Renewal in XVIIth Century Paris,” published in 1991, examines the Cardinal’s
patronage of the Sorbonne chapel, providing a model example of a study merging the political
and religious goals of a French patron. Focusing on Richelieu’s resolution of a theological
controversy between Gallican and Tridentine parties within the Sorbonne College, the author
presents the architecture as more than a French building adorned with classical motifs. Instead,
he argues that the twofold character of the dispute inspired a church for which the design and
decorative program were likewise dual in their purpose and presentation. By expanding the
search for influences on the design to contemporary events occurring at the Sorbonne, the author
not only adds to my own research but also contributes to my methodological approach.
One of the largest gaps in the literature is for Louis XIII. Scholarship traditionally
characterizes the king as a weak ruler lacking an interest in the arts, which explains the lack of
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