Richelieu and the arts: his houses and gardens: his iconography

Abstract

This thesis is concerned with Cardinal Richelieu's interest in the visual arts. For the last tv/enty years of Louis XIII's reign Richelieu was one of the most important patrons of his day, and it is in the following fields that I seek to demonstrate his interest and influence.In Chapter One I discuss Richelieu's houses, apart from the Palais Cardinal and the Chateau de Rueil. Attention is focussed primarily on their contents and decoration. Richelieu inherited, rented, bought, built and was given innumerable buildings, and the most important of these are described.In Chapter Two Richelieu's two main residences, the Palais Cardinal and the Chateau de Rueil are discussed in the light of their hitherto unpublished inventories, taken following the Cardinal's death. For the first time it is possible to give a full description of the furniture and collections of paintings and objets d'art belonging to Richelieu.Chapter Three describes Richelieu's gardens, in which he took an intense, personal interest. It seems that the art of gardening and gardens was one which touched him deeply.The two final Chapters are concerned with Richelieu's iconography, Chapter Four dealing with the straightforward portraiture of the Cardinal in several mediums, including painted portraits, engrav¬ ings, medals, portrait busts and a statue. Chapter Five discusses Richelieu's allegorical and mythological iconography, and the uses to which this was put. The gallery, where a series of paintings could comment at length upon a theme, was an ideal vehicle for this kind of iconography, and those galleries connected with Richelieu are described. Other mediums exploring allegorical and mythological registers include engravings, medals and emblems.Finally, I append notes on the agents Richelieu employed both to collect works of art, and to supervise building projects.The second volume of this thesis is devoted to a transcription of the inventories of the Palais Cardinal, the Château de Rueil, and of Richelieu's documents and papers, and it has a separate Introduction.