Le Grand Siècle – classicism and Baroque
Under Louis XIV art became part of the machinery of the state, and Versailles became the model for all of Europe.
The French 17th century is often called le Grand Siècle, the great century. France became the most powerful state in Europe, and art was given the task of showing it. In the first half of the century painters worked in very different idioms. Simon Vouet brought home a bright, decorative Baroque from Rome. In Lorraine, Georges de La Tour painted figures in the still glow of candlelight, and the Le Nain brothers depicted peasants with unusual dignity.
Two of the greatest French painters of the age spent almost their entire lives in Rome. Nicolas Poussin painted solemn scenes from ancient history and the Bible, constructed with the clarity of a drama. Claude Lorrain painted ideal landscapes bathed in golden light. They became models for a classical approach that in France was often set against the more emotional Baroque of Italy and Flanders. Both sold their works to collectors all over Europe.
When Louis XIV took personal control of government in 1661, everything came to revolve around the king. His minister Colbert organized the arts as an affair of state. Academies, manufactories and the royal building office all worked towards the same goal. Charles Le Brun directed the decoration of châteaux and palaces, and the palace of Versailles grew into a colossal work in which architecture, gardens, painting and sculpture were all meant to glorify the Sun King. Versailles was then copied by princes throughout Europe, Sweden included.