Grande Commande
Encyclopedia
The grande commande was a commission ordered by Louis XIV for statues intended to decorate the parterre d’eau of the gardens
of the Palace of Versailles
, as initially conceived in 1672. The commission, which included 24 statues and four groups, was ordered in 1674. Designed by Charles Le Brun
from Cesare Ripa’s
Iconologia, the statues were executed by the foremost sculptors of the day (Blunt, 1980; Friedman, 1988, 1993; Nolhac, 1913; Thompson, 2006; Verlet, 1985).
Owing to concerns of the effects of the vertical lines of the statues in relations to the garden façade of the château, the statues of the grande commande were transferred to other locations in the gardens in 1684 (Berger, 1985; Blunt, 1980; Friedman, 1988, 1993; Marie, 1968; Nolhac, 1901, 1913; Thompson, 2006; Verlet, 1985; Weber, 1993).
The 24 statues were personifications of the classic quaternities:
The four groupings represented the four classic Abductions:
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Journals
Gardens of Versailles
The Gardens of Versailles occupy part of what was once the Domaine royal de Versailles, the royal demesne of the château of Versailles. Situated to the west of the palace, the gardens cover some 800 hectares of land, much of which is landscaped in the classic French Garden style perfected here by...
of the Palace of Versailles
Palace of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles , or simply Versailles, is a royal château in Versailles in the Île-de-France region of France. In French it is the Château de Versailles....
, as initially conceived in 1672. The commission, which included 24 statues and four groups, was ordered in 1674. Designed by Charles Le Brun
Charles Le Brun
Charles Le Brun , a French painter and art theorist, became the all-powerful, peerless master of 17th-century French art.-Biography:-Early life and training:...
from Cesare Ripa’s
Cesare Ripa
Cesare Ripa was an Italian aesthetician who worked for Cardinal Anton Maria Salviati as a cook and butler.Little is known about his life. He was born in Perugia and died in Rome. After the death of the cardinal, Ripa worked for his relatives...
Iconologia, the statues were executed by the foremost sculptors of the day (Blunt, 1980; Friedman, 1988, 1993; Nolhac, 1913; Thompson, 2006; Verlet, 1985).
Owing to concerns of the effects of the vertical lines of the statues in relations to the garden façade of the château, the statues of the grande commande were transferred to other locations in the gardens in 1684 (Berger, 1985; Blunt, 1980; Friedman, 1988, 1993; Marie, 1968; Nolhac, 1901, 1913; Thompson, 2006; Verlet, 1985; Weber, 1993).
The 24 statues were personifications of the classic quaternities:
- The Four Humors of Man
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-
- Melancholic
- Phlegmatic
- Choleric
- Sanguine
-
- The Four Parts of the Day
-
-
- Dawn
- Noon
- Evening
- Night
-
- The Four Parts of the World
-
-
- Europe
- Africa
- Asia
- America
-
- The Four Forms of Poetry
-
-
- Lyric
- Pastoral
- Satirical
- Epic
-
- The Four Seasons
-
-
- Spring
- Summer
- Autumn
- Winter
-
- The Four Elements
-
-
- Fire
- Air
- Earth
- Water
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The four groupings represented the four classic Abductions:
- The Four Abductions:
-
-
- PersephonePersephoneIn Greek mythology, Persephone , also called Kore , is the daughter of Zeus and the harvest-goddess Demeter, and queen of the underworld; she was abducted by Hades, the god-king of the underworld....
by PlutoPlutoPluto, formal designation 134340 Pluto, is the second-most-massive known dwarf planet in the Solar System and the tenth-most-massive body observed directly orbiting the Sun... - CybeleCybeleCybele , was a Phrygian form of the Earth Mother or Great Mother. As with Greek Gaia , her Minoan equivalent Rhea and some aspects of Demeter, Cybele embodies the fertile Earth...
by SaturnSaturnSaturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest planet in the Solar System, after Jupiter. Saturn is named after the Roman god Saturn, equated to the Greek Cronus , the Babylonian Ninurta and the Hindu Shani. Saturn's astronomical symbol represents the Roman god's sickle.Saturn,... - OrethyiaOreithyiaOrithyia ; ) was the daughter of King Erechtheus of Athens and his wife, Praxithea, in Greek mythology. Her brothers were Cecrops, Pandorus, and Metion, and her sisters were Procris, Creusa, and Chthonia....
by Boreas - CoronisCoronisCoronis may refer to:*Coronis *Coronis *Coronis *USS Coronis , a repair ship that served in World War II...
by NeptuneNeptuneNeptune is the eighth and farthest planet from the Sun in the Solar System. Named for the Roman god of the sea, it is the fourth-largest planet by diameter and the third largest by mass. Neptune is 17 times the mass of Earth and is slightly more massive than its near-twin Uranus, which is 15 times...
- Persephone
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| “Meoncholy” by Michel de la Perdrix, (? - 1693) | “Phlegmatic” by Matthieu Lespagnandelle, (1617–1689) | “Choloric” by Jacques Houzeau, (1624–1691) | “Sanguine” by Noël V Jouvenet, (?-1716) |
| “Dawn” by Pierre I Legros, (1629–1714) | “Noon” by Gaspard Marsy, (1624–1681) | “Evening” by Martin Desjardins Martin Desjardins Martin Desjardins, born Martin van den Bogaert was a French sculptor and stuccoist of Dutch birth.He was born at Breda, the son of a milliner in a house that would later carry the name 'de Drye Bredasche Hoeden'... , (1637–1694) |
“Night” by Jean Raon, (1631–1707) |
| “Europe” by Pierre Mazeline, (1632–1708) | “Africa” by Jean Cornu, (1650–1710) | “Asia” by Léonard Roger, (1644-après 1694) | “America” by Gilles Guérin Gilles Guérin Gilles Guérin was a French sculptor of the second rank, providing tomb sculptures and decorative sculptures in interiors, in the Baroque idiom.-Notable works:... , (1611/1612-1678) |
| “Lyric Poetry” by Jean-Baptiste Tuby Jean-Baptiste Tuby Jean-Baptiste Tuby was a French sculptor of Italian origins. He was born in Rome in 1635 and died in Paris in 1700. He is most renowned for the Fountain of Apollo at Versailles.-External links:* Fountain of Apollo at Versailles... , (1635–1700) |
“Pastoral Poetry” by Pierre Granier Pierre Granier Pierre Granier was a proficient but minor French sculptor, trained in the excellent atelier of François Girardon who produced a generation of highly competent sculptors for the Bâtiments du Roi. Granier served as a modest member of the extensive team that provided sculpture for the Château de... , (1655–1715) |
“Satyrical Poetry” by Philippe de Buyster, (1595–1688) | “Epic Poetry” by Jean Drouilly, (1641–1698) |
| “Spring” by Laurent Magnier, (1618–1700) | “Summer” by Pierre Hutinot, (1616–1679) | “Autumn” by Thomas Regnaudin Thomas Regnaudin Thomas Regnaudin was a French sculptor, affiliated with Northern Baroque. Some of Regnaudin's works were placed in the Apollo Gallery of the Louvre. A son of a stonemason, he was a pupil of Anguier.-External links:*... , (1622–1706) |
“Winter” by François Girardon François Girardon François Girardon was a French sculptor.He was born at Troyes. As a boy he had for master a joiner and wood-carver of his native town, named Baudesson, under whom he is said to have worked at the chateau of Liebault, where he attracted the notice of Chancellor Séguier... , (1628–1715) |
| “Fire” by Nicolas Dossier, (1629–1700) | “Air” by Etienne Le Hongre Etienne Le Hongre Etienne Le Hongre was a French sculptor, part of the team that worked for the Bâtiments du Roi at Versailles. Le Hongre was one of the first generation of sculptors formed by the precepts of the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture... , (1628–1690) |
“Earth” by Benoît Massou, (1627–1684) | “Water” by Pierre I Legros, (1629–1714) |
| “Boreas abducting Orethyia” by Anselme I Flamen, (1647–1717) | “Saturn abducting Cybele” by Thomas Regnaudin Thomas Regnaudin Thomas Regnaudin was a French sculptor, affiliated with Northern Baroque. Some of Regnaudin's works were placed in the Apollo Gallery of the Louvre. A son of a stonemason, he was a pupil of Anguier.-External links:*... , (1622–1706) |
“Pluto abducting Persephone” by François Girardon François Girardon François Girardon was a French sculptor.He was born at Troyes. As a boy he had for master a joiner and wood-carver of his native town, named Baudesson, under whom he is said to have worked at the chateau of Liebault, where he attracted the notice of Chancellor Séguier... , (1628–1715) |
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