Le Brun’s Pietà : pious eloquence of reserve
(2014) RSA 2014 — Location: New York (27.March.2014)
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- Authors
- Abstract
- Charles Le Brun’s Pietà, painted for the artist’s main patron, Pierre Séguier, remains remarkably understudied. The large canvas followed the latter until his last days and then remained in Séguier’s family, which suggests their close attachment to it. This paper will specify the nature of the relationship between Séguier’s family and this painting in the private settings where it was exposed. Le Brun, although known for his ability to represent passions and facial expressions eloquently, pays here little attention to the Virgin’s face (her mouth is closed, and her head and eyes are cast down on Christ’s luminous body), and concentrates on her gestures. Invoking Le Brun’s actio and colorito and the study of the Berullian spirituality in Séguier’s circle — Bérulle was Séguier’s cousin — I will argue that this painting, which restrains and internalizes the Virgin’s emotions, can be read as a private meditation on compassion, resurrection, and salvation;
- Affiliations
Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne
Citations
Somon, M. G. M. (2014). Le Brun’s Pietà : pious eloquence of reserve. RSA 2014, New York. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/24182