This study examines early seventeenth-century Parisian churches supported by French monarchs, concentrating on the manner in which the buildings illuminate the political goals of the patrons. Specifically it focuses on the reign of King Louis XIII (1610-1643), a period during which the king's mother Queen Maria de' Medici ruled as regent from 1610 to 1617. During the king's reign twenty-one new places of worship were constructed in Paris, making it one of the most active phases of church building in the entire history of the French capital. Of the twenty-one churches built during this period, ten received support from the current monarch. Scholars traditionally attribute the volume of construction to the impact of the Catholic Reformation and the subsequent establishment of numerous reformed religious groups in Paris. While the religious renewal that swept France in the early seventeenth century certainly fueled the construction of churches, the factors prompting Louis XIII and Maria de' Medici to support such a high number of buildings remains unexplored in the literature. By investigating the architecture, painting, and sculpture of these churches in tandem with the historical and political context of the period, the buildings reveal how they took on additional meaning beyond reflecting the devout Catholic state. Instead of Maria de' Medici and Louis XIII only using the churches as symbols of their religious beliefs, they supported them as a means of pursuing their political objectives, goals that varied depending upon who was in control of the throne. Specifically, Maria de' Medici became a patron of ecclesiastical institutions to promote her authority while demonstrating her support of the Catholic faith, its institutions, and its allies. In contrast, Louis XIII advocated the sovereignty of the state, contributing to churches that honored French kingship and the monarch's divine right to rule through their architecture, painting, and sculpture. / A Dissertation Submitted to the Department of Art History in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2009. / March 23, 2009. / France, Churches, Architectural History, Art History, Early Modern Europe / Includes bibliographical references. / Robert N. Neuman, Professor Directing Dissertation; William Cloonan, Outside Committee Member; Jack Freiberg, Committee Member; Paula Gerson, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_180332 |
| Contributors | Sandlin, Julianne Parse (authoraut), Neuman, Robert N. (professor directing dissertation), Cloonan, William (outside committee member), Freiberg, Jack (committee member), Gerson, Paula (committee member), Department of Art History (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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