Leseprobe

105 The French School As ‘the Sun King’ Louis XIV became the living embodiment of centralized rule in France and his courtly absolutism a model for all the princely and royal houses of Europe. Besides increas­ ing economic and political sway, his long period of rule saw a flourishing in French literature, music, and art. As a conse­ quence, French painting of the 17th century started gaining in importance, after more than a century of Italian dominance. At the heart of the Gemäldegalerie’s collection of French mas­ ters lie stellar works by Nicolas Poussin and Claude Lorrain. Both artists settled in Italy to hone and ultimately perfect their styles. Particularly noteworthy in this regard are Poussin’s The Realm of Flora – a seminal work of French painting – and Lorrain’s Coastal Landscape with Acis and Galatea . The display also features pictures by Nicolas Tournier and Valentin de Bou­ logne, some of the most important representatives of French Caravaggesque painting – for these artists, too, were active in Italy, where their painting style was clearly influenced by the Roman paintings of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio and his immediate followers. The collection also features numerous works by artists active during the reign of Augustus the Strong and his son, Prince-Elector Friedrich August, later King August III. These include an impressive state portrait (on display at the very start of the exhibition) by Hyacinthe Rigaud of Friedrich August as a youthful prince-elector, painted during his sojourn in Paris before he took the throne. As painter to the court of Saxony, French-born Louis de Silvestre was also the author of numerous portraits. But his immense oeuvre also includes monumental decorative paintings, for, among other places, Dresden’s Residenzschloss. Forming an additional collection highlight are works by the painters of the fête galante (courtship party) – foremost among them Antoine Watteau, as well as Jean-Baptiste Pater and Nicolas Lancret. | iyw