After the Pyrenees Peace Treaty, very favorable for Louis XIV, the Duke of Savoy Charles Emmanuel II was anxious to secure the independence of his territories by a political alliance with the French King. In this context, Charles...
moreAfter the Pyrenees Peace Treaty, very favorable for Louis XIV, the Duke of Savoy Charles Emmanuel II was anxious to secure the independence of his territories by a political alliance with the French King. In this context, Charles Emmanuel's marriage with the French princess Françoise d'Orléans-Valois in 1663 comes as no surprise. It was a matter of such political importance that it was celebrated multiple times. First in Paris, then in Annecy, in Chambéry and at last in Torino. The ceremonies in Annecy and Chambéry were orchestrated by Christine of Savoy, who favored the Jesuit friar Claude-François Ménestrier. Christine was already acquainted with Ménestrier's work in Lyons, where he was commissioned by the Archbishop for the conduct of the ephemeral and theatrical festivities on the occasion of the Louis XIV's visit in 1658. Ménestrier had also designed the ephemeral decoration in Lyons for the celebration of the Pyrenees Peace Treaty in 1660, so his implication in the organization of the ducal wedding had by itself a political meaning.
This communication focuses on Ménestrier's festival in Chambéry, as Annecy's decoration, probably also designed by Ménestrier, should be considered as a reduced and miniature model of the grand design in Chambéry. Ménestrier knew that Torino's decoration was designed by Tesauro and was intended to be the culmination point of all festivities. It is easy to imagine, however, that there was certain emulation between the two iconographers, who did not choose the same approach. By 1663, Ménestrier was already regarded as the French authority on heraldics. Naturally, his design in Chambéry was nourished by his passion for coats of arms, and can be considered as the most prominent example of the use of joint coats of arms, also known as marital coats of arms, or allianzwappen in German, in an ephemeral decoration during the 17th century. The entire design and also the very title of the ephemeral decorations is actually an attempt to translate the German term allianzwappen in French – Les Noeuds de l'Amour. The festival was composed of eight triumphal arches, one firework and one permanent decoration. Each one of the ephemeral decorations was titled Noeud de l'Amour, and embodied the political connection of the ducal couple with different corporations, with different administrations of the city or with principles of good government, such as Liberality. The same title was also chosen for the permanent decoration, designed by Ménestrier and painted by Delamonce, in the the ducal bedchamber in Chambéry's castle.
First, we will argue that Ménestrier's decorations were intended as a way of symbolic, but also magical entanglement between the Kingdom of France and the Duchy of Savoy, and most of all between the ducal couple and the city of Chambéry. Indeed, Ménestrier's use of joint coats of arms, entangled monograms or chiffres, can only be explained though his own theoretical publications on coats of arms, such as Le véritable art du blason (Lyons, 1659) or Origine des armoiries (Lyons, 1679). In these publications Ménestrier proposes that coats of arms are the descendants of Egyptian hieroglyphs. Thus, his use of coats of arms for Chambéry's decoration in 1663 in no different to the use of hieroglyphic signs in Ancient Egypt. In other words, the Chambéry's festival proposed, besides a well-calculated political discourse, the magical binding of the ducal couple to Chambéry by means of a visual sacred language.
Second, Ménestrier's design clarifies the missing link between ephemeral decoration and permanent decoration. Indeed, Ménestrier imagined not only the usual triumphal arches and fireworks, but also a quite permanent fresco decoration for Chambéry's castle. Even though this decoration was lost in a fire during the late 17th century, it testifies that some permanent decorations can be considered as the culminating point of a joyous entry, and should not be disconnected from a very specific political occasion, much like an ephemeral decoration. We can consider that Ménestrier's idea for this permanent decoration, stuck between all the ephemeral ones, comes from the decoration of Lyons' Townhall. Its Grand Salon was commissioned by the Archbishop in 1655 for the visit of Louis XIV in 1658. Ménestrier was then confronted with a dilemma. On the on hand he was supposed to produce of piece of political discourse immediately comprehensible to the King. On the other hand, the decoration was there to last and was supposed to have a second and more general meaning intended for the magistrates of Lyons working in the Towhall. We can argue that Ménestrier's decoration for Chambery's castle works in a way very similar to that of Lyons' Townhall. For that reason, we will try to interpret, by means of semantic comparison, its double meaning and double use, both ephemeral and permanent.
