17th-century French art

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17th-century French art is generally referred to as Baroque, but from the mid- to late 17th century, the style of French art shows a classical adherence to certain rules of proportion and sobriety uncharacteristic of the Baroque as it was practiced in most of the rest of Europe during the same period.

Louis XIII style

In the early part of the 17th century, late

However, under

The court of Louis XIV

In this period, Louis' minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert established royal control over artisanal production in France; henceforth France would no longer purchase luxury goods from abroad, but would, herself, set the standard for quality. This control was also seen in the creation of an academy of painting and sculpture, which maintained a hierarchy of genres in painting (the "noblest," according to André Félibien in 1667, being history painting), a strong use of pictorial rhetoric, and a strict sense of decorum in subject matter.^[1]

Furnishings and interior designs from this period are referred to as "Louis XIV style"; the style is characterized by weighty brocades of red and gold, thickly gilded plaster molding, large sculpted sideboards, and heavy marbling.^{[citation needed]}

In 1682, Versailles was transformed into the official residence of the king; eventually the

• French artists of the seventeenth century
• French Baroque architecture
• Baroque painting
• French Baroque music
• Classicism
• Louvre Colonnade
• Style Louis XIV
• Louis Quinze

References