Les bustes de Louis XIV par Le Bernin et Warin: marbres, bronzes et copies

• Autores: Robert W. Berger
• Localización: Revue de l'art, ISSN 0035-1326, Nº. 190, 2015 (Ejemplar dedicado a: Au temps de Louis XIV), págs. 49-58
• Idioma: francés
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• Resumen

  • The busts of Louis XIV by Bernini and Warin: marbles, bronzes and copies.

    This article explores, in greater detail than has been done before, Jean Warin's public criticism of Bernini's marble bust of Louis XIV (1665) and his own contending portrait in the same material (1665-1666). Chantelou's "Journal" is the primary source for Warin's negative comments, which were focused on the forehead of Bernini's bust. The forehead was precisely the area that Bernini based on coins of Alexander the Great, thus creating a link between the King and the ancient conqueror, but Warin apparently did not recognize this. His rival bust is proto-neo-classical: Louis is dressed in ancient Roman armor, not contemporary dress and armor as in the Italian work, without the suggested movement of the latter, and with a forehead more covered with hair -a pointed riposte. The two busts were displayed as a pair in changing royal locations (Louvre, Palais des Tuileries, Versailles). Warin's enjoyed a place of honor in the Escalier des Ambassadeurs at Versailles for a few years from 1679 on, but eventually lost favor, whereas Bernini's (after which many casts were made) was set up in the Salon de Diane at Versailles in 1684, where it has remained ever since. Documents indicate that although Warin made the model, it was Gérard Leónard Hérard, his collaborator, who actually carved the rival marble bust. The article also discusses the evidence for a bronze bust of Louis XIV by Warin, which remains untraced.