This thesis examines the history, political climate and evolution of l'Academie royale de Peinture et de Sculpture, Paris (1648) as well as Nicolas Poussin's aesthetic contribution to its classical syllabus, and his influence on Charles Le Brun's classicizing perceptions via-a-vis the Academy during his tenure as Protector, Chancellor (for life), and Director. Explored too is the confrontation between the ancient guild system (la Maitrise), and the emerging idea of the ennoblement of the arts. Poussin's Israelites Gathering the Manna and Rebecca and Eliezer, analysed during les Conferences of the Academy, along with certain of the paintings of Charles Le Brun are considered to the conclusion that, at the outset, there was considerable flexibility with regard to les regles.

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Artemisia Gentileschi's self-portrait, Allegory of Painting, painted in 1630, has activated a complex discussion of female artistic identity in which performance is tied to concerns with status. This thesis addresses an earlier history of development in allegorical self-portraiture in the work of the sixteenth-century Bolognese artist, Lavinia Fontana, and her seventeenth-century successor, Elisabetta Sirani. I argue that the female artist's negotiation for status was played out in the transformation from a more official mode of self presentation, such as Fontana's Self-Portrait at the Keyboard , to a deliberate performative shift of embodied personification in her self-portrait as Judith with the head of Holofernes and her later self portraits as St. Barbara in the Apparition of the Madonna and Child to the Five Saints. This negotiation of artistic status continues with Sirani's self-portraits in Judith and the Allegory of Painting, and as what I suggest are more ambiguous and ambitious representations of anti-heroines, Cleopatra and Circe. I also discuss the important role that the emerging genre of biography plays in the female artist's struggle for status. The thesis explores the shift in visual conventions in relation to discourses of artistic identity, gender and genre---such as the donnesca mano---that circulated in Renaissance historiography in Italy, and more specifically, in the cultural milieu of Bologna.

La Révolte des Catalans (1640-1652) est un événement majeur de l’histoire du XVIIe siècle espagnol qui trouve ses origines dans le déclin politique et économique de la monarchie catholique. Longtemps considérée comme une rébellion populaire similaire aux soulèvements qui secouent toute l’Europe à la même époque, elle a fait l’objet, depuis une vingtaine d’années, de nombreuses études qui ont permis de mettre en lumière sa complexité et sa forte dimension politique grâce, notamment, à l’étude de l’engagement de la Generalitat et du Consell de Cent de Barcelone dans une guerre contre Philippe IV (1621-1665) et son valido, le Comte-Duc d’Olivares. Cette thèse entend participer à ce renouveau historiographique en proposant une étude des principales polémiques survenues entre le gouvernement royal et les institutions catalanes dans le but de pouvoir dresser un panorama du contexte politique de la genèse, de l’éclatement et de la résolution d’un conflit qui, douze ans durant, oppose Philippe IV à ses sujets catalans. / The Revolt of the Catalans (1640-1652) is a major landmark of Spanish XVIIth century, rooted into the political and economical decline of the catholic monarchy. Long deemed to be a popular rebellion similar to the uprisings bursting all over Europe at the same time, several studies lead over the past twenty years revealed its complexity and strong political dimension, in particular through the study of how Generalitat and Consell de Cent started war against Philip IV (1621-1665) and his valido, Count-Duke of Olivares. This thesis aims at participating to such historiographical renewal by offering a study of the main controversies involving the royal government and Catalan institutions, in order to draw an overview of the political context during the genesis, the breaking and the solving of a conflict which opposed Philip IV to his Catalan subjects for twelve years.

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Les opéras de Jean-Baptiste de Lully (1632-1687) ont joui d’une diffusion européenne tant de son vivant que de manière posthume. Parmi les pays où ses opéras suscitèrent un véritable engouement, la Hollande bénéficiait d’une situation particulière. En effet, les opéras ont paru aussi bien dans les théâtres que dans l’édition musicale. Concernant l’édition musicale, la ville d’Amsterdam occupa un rôle primordial, où les opéras de Lully furent publiés non seulement en partitions générales et réduites, mais aussi en extraits vocaux et instrumentaux, dont les derniers ont pu être considérés comme les suites instrumentales. Celles-ci constituent un corpus exceptionnel dans la diffusion de l’opéra de Lully, car elles sont arrangées en 4 parties au lieu des 5 originairement présentées et ont joué un rôle intermédiaire entre l’opéra français et la suite d’orchestre allemande. Parmi les éditeurs contribuant à ce phénomène, il faut notamment distinguer un éditeur ayant exercé le commerce extensif : Estienne Roger (1665/66 - 1722). Au sein des recherches sur Roger, la publication de la musique instrumentale italienne et le commerce international représentaient deux enjeux majeurs. Pourtant, la place de la musique française dans ses éditions n’a pas suffisamment été évaluée, bien qu’elle ait atteint jusqu’à un tiers. Cette thèse traite de la particularité commerciale et éditoriale de ce domaine, en se focalisant sur les suites provenant des opéras de Lully. Trois points seront mis en examen : avantage de Roger en tant que libraire huguenot, son utilisation des catalogues lors de la vente des œuvres de Lully, caractéristiques musicales des suites par le biais de l’arrangement. / The operas of Jean-Baptiste de Lully (1632-1687) enjoyed a European diffusion both during his lifetime and posthumously. Among the countries where his operas aroused a real enthusiasm, Holland enjoyed a special situation. Indeed, the operas appeared both in theaters and in music publishing. Concerning musical publishing, the city of Amsterdam occupied a primordial role, where Lully's operas were published not only in scores, but also in vocal and instrumental extracts, the last of which could be considered as the instrumental suites. These suites constitute an exceptional corpus in the diffusion of Lully's opera, as they are arranged in 4 parts instead of the 5 originally presented and played an intermediate role between the French opera and the German orchestra suite. Among the publishers contributing to this phenomenon, we must distinguish a publisher who has carried out the extensive marketing: Estienne Roger (1665/66 - 1722). In the researches about Roger, the publication of Italian instrumental music and international trade were two major issues. Yet the place of French music in his editions has not been sufficiently evaluated, although it has reached as much as a third. This thesis deals with the commercial and editorial character of this field, focusing on the suites resulting from the Lully’s operas. Three points will be examined: Roger's advantage as a Huguenot bookseller, his use of catalogs in the sale of Lully's works, musical features of the suites through the arrangement.

This thesis explores the influence of French royal image-making on English monarchies at the turn of the eighteenth century. It investigates the relevance of Louis XIV (r. 1643-1715) to English royal iconography during the reigns of William III (r. 1689-1702) and Queen Anne (r. 1702-1714) across a wide range of source material - from panegyric and portraiture, to medals, sculpture, and architecture. In doing so, it foregrounds the intricate interplay between political communication and different forms of artistic imagination in the early modern period. The thesis conceptualises the relation between post-revolutionary English monarchical image-making and its French counterpart as one of contest with and emancipation from French influence. The specific political circumstances add a particular poignancy to the investigation of this narrative, as the almost continual crises which the English monarchy suffered at the time stand in sharp contrast with the (dynastic) stability of the French monarchy and its highly influential court culture. Despite these elements of rupture and contrast, however, the story of seventeenth-century English monarchical image-making is one of continuity in respect of its gradual disengagement from the French model. In contrast to his immediate predecessors, I contend, William's image-making presents him as Louis's competitor, rather than his imitator. In the course of William's reign, Louis's monarchical model thus turns from model to foil. This development evolves further in Queen Anne's reign, culminating in Louis's mort avant la lettre, as Anne's image-making dispenses with the Ludovican model both as model and as foil. English post-revolutionary image-making, I argue, not only mirrored, but actively contributed to the decline of the Ludovican model, whilst maintaining the figure of the monarch as central to public political discourse. Through the lens of monarchical image-making, therefore, this thesis offers a critical outlook onto late seventeenth-century Anglo-French political and artistic relations.