Realization: Déruet, Claude Claude de Ruet, Claude des Ruets (Nancy, 1588 - Nancy, October 20, 1660) (Painter)
The Four Elements, Water
The Four Elements, Water
Production: 1640 - 1641
Estate: Painting
Technique(s): Canvas (oil painting)
Dimensions : H. 115.5 cm ; W. 230 cm ; D. 2 cm
Inventory no.: PE.357
Photo credit(s) :
Lauginie, François
Cartel
Water is part of the Four Elements series installed in Anne of Austria's cabinet at the Château de Richelieu. The set glorified the royal family and Cardinal de Richelieu (1585-1642).
The composition of Water is divided along a central diagonal: on the left, the essential political message, and on the right, a party on the ice. Trimmed at the ends, the canvas now seems more compact and modest than it was originally.
A ship appears on the left with France on its bow. The crew consists of Queen Anne of Austria with Philippe de France, the Dauphin and Louis XIII, waving a banner adorned with an image of the Virgin, in reference to France's consecration to the Madonna on August 15, 1637. In the center, Richelieu emerges from the Temple of Glory, surmounted by Renommée. Finally, the Holy Spirit showers Louis XIII with rays of light from the heavens, accompanied by thirteen crowns and a blue cord bearing the cross of the Holy Spirit.
The right-hand side presents anecdotal scenes: the carriage and its passengers tip over, exchanges between men and women, the bustle of other characters. The frozen water is the setting for sleigh rides, a pretext for the painter to express extraordinary ornamental refinement, evoking the splendor of the Lorraine court in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Claude Déruet was a painter and organizer of festivities at the court of Nancy. The Quatre Eléments cycle demonstrates the artist's commitment to the tradition of late Mannerism, with its refined and precious effects, and its taste for parades and spectacular effects.
Provenance
Château de Richelieu, collection of Cardinal de Richelieu (1585-1642).
Château de Richelieu, Queen's bedroom, until its destruction around 1820.
Louis Auguste Pilté-Grenet Collection (1764-1842).
Donated by Louis Auguste Pilté-Grenet to the Musée des Beaux-Arts d'Orléans, 1824.
School
France
Location
Museum of Fine Arts
1st floor
Room: Le château de Richelieu La grande peinture religieurse (XVIIe-XVIIIe siècle)