Charles Le Brun: a 17th-century French attempt to classify emotions

« Egy XVII. századi francia kísérlet az érzelmek ikonográfiai osztályozására: Charles Le Brun »

Katalin Bartha-Kovács (1)

1 CLARE - Cultures, Littératures, Arts, Représentations, Esthétiques

The expression of emotions is highly emphasized in historical paintings created during the age of French Classicism. What were the reasons that led to this type of representation of emotions, which seems exaggerated by today’s standards? The answer to this question can be found in the lecture on the Expression of Passions, given in 1668 by Charles Le Brun, the court painter of King Louis XIV and the most dominant figure of 17th-century French art. In this lecture, the painter classifies passions: he describes in detail how they could be portrayed in such a way that they can be easily recognized by the viewer. This study, based on iconographic and textual sources, first examines the meanings of the word “feeling” (sentiment) and its discursive synonyms (passion, emotion) in 17th-century French language. We then explain Le Brun’s theory: it is not the eye, but the eyebrows that he considers to be the most important part of the face, as it is able to illustrate the nature of the agitation of the soul. Finally, we try to resolve the apparent contradiction that while the Court of Louis XIV was characterized by the suppression of emotions, the representation of emotions is particularly powerful in the pictures from the era.

Domaines: Art et histoire de l'art

Katalin Bartha-Kovács. « Egy XVII. századi francia kísérlet az érzelmek ikonográfiai osztályozására: Charles Le Brun ». Az érzelmek története. Rendi társadalom – polgári társadalom 31, szerk. Lukács Anikó – Tóth Árpád, Budapest, Hajnal István Kör – Társadalomtudományi Egyesület, p. 11-22. ISBN 978-963-89463-7-9., 2019. ⟨hal-02613196⟩