PALAIS ROYAL : MUSÉE DU LOUVRE

The Art of Power L’art du Pouvoir

For its third season La Petite Galerie of the Louvre is presenting a show that demonstrates the link between power and art. Entitled Théâtre du Pouvoir (Theatre of Power), the show brings together some 50 works dating from Antiquity to the present emanating from the collections of the Louvre, the Musée National du Château de Pau, the Château de Versailles and the Musée des Beaux-arts of the City of Paris illustrating the evolution of how political power is represented.

The show is divided into four parts the first presenting the functions of the king, the priest king, the builder king, the war-protector king and serves to evoke the different artistic techniques used in various depictions. Among the works on show is Louis XIII by Philippe de Champaigne. The second part showcases the emblematic figure of Henry IV with among others sculpture by Barthélemy Prieur and paintings by Ingres. The third part takes a look at the antique model notably through the theme of the equestrian statue of which the Louvre has many fine examples, notably a bronze of Charles the Bald and Louis XIV by François Girardon. The fourth room brings together the emblems of power in which majestic portraits of monarchs are displayed including Louis XVI by Antoine-françois Collet and Napoleon I by François Gérard, which are exhibited next to the regalia, the symbols of royalty and objects used in the coronation of the French kings. This part of the show also puts the spotlight on the historic and iconographic ruptures born with the French Revolution.