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Images of Imperial Ideology

See also the episodes 1 to 7 of our New Salvator Mundi History:

A Salvator Mundi Puzzle

Unknown Melzi

Francis I and the Crown of Charlemagne

From Amboise to Fontainebleau

Drones Above Chambord

Looking Back at Conques

Flaubert at Fontainebleau

And:

A Salvator Mundi Geography

A Salvator Mundi Atlas

Images of Imperial Ideology

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(16.-18.7.2021) We have seen in various episodes of our New Salvator Mundi History that the Salvator Mundi version Cook
can be interpreted, due to its particular orb, within the framework of the imperial ideology of the French monarchy.
What I am calling ›imperial ideology› here, with reference to the French historian Gaston Zeller, is something that
has a history. We see phases of active aspiring for the imperial crown as in the epoch of Francis I. But we also see
phases with imperial ideas being expressed without such ideas being translated into active politics; and probably we can
also find phases with scarce or no expressions at all of imperial aspirations. Brief: One might say that we find ›dream
phases‹, ›wake phases‹ and ›stages of sleep‹ of imperial ideology in history. A symptom may be the imagemaking of
imperial ideology. And this is what we will contemplate here: the picturemaking, the imagemaking, and how it is part of
what the French historian Gaston Zeller called, in 1934, the ›imperial ideology‹ of the French kings. Our focus will be,
for once, not the Salvator Mundi version Cook (which I have placed into a ›wake phase‹ of French imperial ideology);
instead we will look at another example which will, although it will remain somewhat mysterious, show us, whether
art historians are willing to see it or not, that any Salvator Mundi painting interacts with its political context.
Because the iconography is, fundamentally, a political one (due to the orb, and due to Christ being regarded as the
›King of Kings‹, thought as handing out real realms on earth to earthly rulers). And if we have understood that the
painting interacts with its political context, we will understand as well that a Salvator Mundi painting cannot be
taken out of its context. We have to find the right one – we have to date it correctly. So that it not only makes any
sense (for us), but exactly the sense it was meant to make then (in history).

One) The Entrée of Charles VIII to Naples (1495)

The ›descent‹ of the French king Charles VIII to Naples in 1494 marks the beginning of the Italian Wars.
Italy became a battlefield of the great powers. The Kingdom of Naples became – as has been said – a ›duelling ground‹
of France and Spain. In 1495 Charles VIII made an entrance to Naples, holding – as tradition does know – an orb in his
hand. This imperial gesture has been depicted in the 19th century representation of this entrée by Éloy Firmin Féron (picture:
Giogo et al.); and this picture of 1837 reminds us, whatever its meaning might have been in the 19th century, of the
imperial ambition of a French king at the time of the Renaissance. Zeller (p. 499) calls the scene a »parade théâtrale et puérile«.
In 1495 – this is important – Maximilian I had been elected as the king of the Romans, but he had not yet been crowned by the pope. This,
at this point, was only to happen, and what actually happened was that Maximilian I was only proclaimed emperor elect
by pope Julius II, and only in 1508 at Trent (and not in Rome): hence what we see is the depiction of an imperial gesture
of a French king at a time the Empire had an Emperor elect, but not one that had been fully installed, due to this
delayed proclamation/not-coronation.

Two) The Kingdom of Naples and its Coat of Arms

The Rijksmuseum of Amsterdam owns a depicting of Christ as the Salvator Mundi that might be inserted into
this panorama of imperial gestures. A panorama that, naturally, also includes the Raphael fresco at the Vatican,
shown above, which depicts the coronation of Charlemagne, but actually, as the ›actors‹ standing in for the historic
personal are French king Francis I and pope Leo X, heralds the ›wake phase‹ of imperial ideology. A phase beginning
in 1516 (the year Raphael, apparently, had to create or to re-work his design), when four of the electors of the Roman
king encouraged Francis I to become a candidate, and when Francis I and Leo X had just built an alliance.
The Amsterdam picture, vaguely dated at around 1500 and vaguely attributed to an unknown artist working in Southern Germany,
shows Christ wearing an imperial crown, holding a globe, and wearing a garment with a stole. If we look closely
at the picture, we find lilies as well as Greek Crosses, and this combination of emblems is to be found on the coat of
arms of the Kingdom of Naples, as being ruled by the French kings (Charles VIII and Louis XII, respectively).
Christ, the King of Kings, the actual emperor, seems to support here the French rule over Naples that Charles VIII had
linked, by his gesture of holding an orb when entering Naples, with the imperial ideology of the French kings.
And hypothetically, and only hypothetically, one might interpret this Salvator Mundi picture (actually also a Christ as
Emperor) as belonging into the same context.

The question if French king Louis XII had actually any imperial ambition is a particularly interesting one, since Louis XII
had – if indirectly – contacts with Leonardo. But this at a time – mostly in 1506 to 1508 – when Leonardo da Vinci was demanded for
by various patrons, including the Republic of Florence. It does not seem to be very likely to me, that the sources allow
to postulate that Leonardo might have contributed to the imagemaking we are contemplating here, the imagemaking serving
the imperial ideology of the French kings, at the time of Charles VIII and Louis XII. Even less so, as the latter
was, at times, also an ally of the actual Emperor. And we know relatively well what Leonardo did in the years 1506 to
1508. His contacts with French patrons are documented by letters, he was meant to draft plans for villa outside Milan,
and other things. But his contacts with all these patrons, at this period of his life, were difficult and complicated,
and Leonardo, also engaged in legal affairs (partly family affairs), seems to have maneuvered between his various patrons.
It is true that the entrance of Louis XII to Milan in 1507 displayed an imperial style – and several Leonardo biographers
have suggested that Leonardo perhaps might have contributed to the (also partly religious) design of this particular
entrée, even if the official chronicle does not mention Leonardo in this respect at all –, but Zeller denies that Louis XII
had actual imperial ambitions at all (while he maintains that this was a fantasy of Maximilian I who accused the king of
having such), and modern scholarship has shown that also the imperial style does disappear again in the staging of Louis XII
as a ruler (see Hochner). Brief: it does not seem to be very likely to me that Leonardo might have been involved in making pictures
that required a more profound knowledge of pictures in France and of specific French needs, and hence a much more intense
interaction with the French monarchy than Leonardo had at the time of Louis XII.
At the time of Francis I all these conditions were given, and it seems much more plausible therefore to place the Salvator Mundi
version Cook into what I am calling the ›wake phase‹ of French imperial ideology, beginning in 1516.

Three) A ›Wake Phase‹ and its Aftermath

The prophecy might be seen as a literary genre being rather the embodiment of medieval spirit, and Leonardo da Vinci
mocked that genre, producing prophecies that obviously were meant as a travesty of ancient or medieval prophecies,
and hence to be interpreted more as a literary game serving for entertainment. But at the time of Francis I, in the year
1522, to be precise, a collection of medieval prophecies, the so called Mirabilis Liber was printed in Paris
by an anonymous compiler, and this compilation was meant to support the imperial ambition of Francis I, since the
prophecies (many speaking of the last emperor to come, before the advent of the antichrist), were being presented as
referring to the French king as the emperor to come. Thus we see that the Renaissance was torn between the ›old‹ and a
›new‹ spirit rather, than (as all-too-often is being suggested) being decidedly a modern era in the/our modern sense.
We may interpret the (probably) delayed printing of the Mirabilis Liber as being an expression of the ›wake phase‹
of imperial ideology turning into a more dreamy phase after the failure of Francis I’s campaign (according to Zeller the
court as the council was rather relieved), and we may see this together with the chateau of Chambord (with its imperial
crowns being used as a decor), actually being built after 1519 (although Leonardo might have had a part in its planning).
Francis I may never have given up the thought that he actually had be meant to become emperor elect in 1519, but
the more theoretical ideology might now have coexisted with more realistic politics (also when the actual emperor
Charles V visited Chambord in 1539). The imperial ideology continued to exist, and books as well as pictures that might
be interpreted as having been part of a particular wake phase of this ideology now existed as being objects in their own
right, being associated more closely or more loosely with a phase that had passed. In the case of the Salvator Mundi
version Cook we are hypothetically suggesting that this particular picture might have been an integral part of the
specific imperial ideology of French king Francis I (and his mother), and that this particular context and connection
has until now been merely overlooked by modern scholars.

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Selected literature:

Gaston Zeller, Les Rois de France candidats ŕ l’Empire. Essay sur l’idéologie impériale en France,
in: Revue Historique 173 (1934), pp. 273-311, 497-534
Nicole Hochner, Le Trône vacant du roi Louis XII. Significations politiques de la mise en scčne royale en Milanais,
in: P. Contamine / J. Guillaume (eds.), Louis XII en Milanais. XLIe colloque international d’études humanistes,
30 juin-3 juillet 1998, Paris 2003, pp. 227-244
Hannes Möhring, Der Weltkaiser der Endzeit. Entstehung, Wandel und Wirkung einer tausendjährigen Weissagung,
Stuttgart 2000

1494: ›Descent‹ of Charles VIII to Naples marks the beginning of the Italian Wars; entrée of Charles VIII to Naples in 1495.

1508: pope Julius II proclaims Maximilian I emperor elect at Trent.

1516: Paolo Emilio, Italian-born humanist at the court of Francis I, publishes the first four books of his history of the Franks; death of Boltraffio.

1517: Leonardo da Vinci, with Boltraffio and Salaě, has come to France (picture of Clos Lucé: Manfred Heyde); 10.10.2017: Antonio de Beatis at Clos Lucé
1517ff: Age of the Reformation; apocalyptic moods; Marguerite of Navarre, sister of Francis I, will be sympathizing with the reform movement; her daughter Jeanne d’Albret, mother of future king Henry IV, is going to become a Calvinist leader.

1518: the Raphael workshop produces/chooses paintings to be sent to France; 28.2.: the Dauphin is born; 13.6.: a Milanese document refers to Salaě and the French king Francis I, having been in touch as to a transaction involving very expensive paintings: one does assume that prior to this date Francis I had acquired originals by Leonardo da Vinci; 19.6.: to thank his royal hosts Leonardo organizes a festivity at Clos Lucé.

1519: death of emperor Maximilian I; Paolo Emilio publishes two further books of his history of the Franks; death of Leonardo da Vinci; Francis I is striving for the imperial crown, but in vain; Louise of Savoy comments upon the election of Charles, duke of Burgundy, who thus is becoming emperor Charles V (painting by Rubens).

1521: Francis I, who will be at war with Hapsburg 1526-29, 1536-38 and 1542-44, is virtually bancrupt.

1522: Mirabilis Liber printed for the very first time.

1523: death of Cesare da Sesto.

1524: 19.1.: death of Salaě after a brawl with French soldiers at Milan.

1525: 23./24.2.: desaster of Francis I at Pavia. 21.4.1525: date of a post-mortem inventory of Salaě’s belongings.

1528: Marguerite of Navarre gives birth to Jeanne d’Albret (1528-1572) who, in 1553, will give birth to Henry, future French king Henry IV.

1530: Francis I marries a sister of emperor Charles V.

1531: death of Louise of Savoy; the plague at Fontainebleau.

1534: Affair of the Placards.

1539: the still unfinished chateau of Chambord is being shown by Francis I to Charles V.

1540s: the picture collection of Francis I being arranged at Fontainebleau.

1544: January: Marguerite of Navarre sends a letter of appreciation to her brother, king Francis I., who has sent her a crucifix, accompanied by a ballade, as a new year’s gift.

1547: death of Francis I.

1549: death of Marguerite de Navarre; death of Giampietrino.

1553: Jeanne d’Albret gives birth to Henry, the future French king Henry IV and first Bourbon king after the rule of the House of Valois.

1559: publication of the Heptaméron by Marguerite de Navarre.

1562-1598: French Wars of Religion.

1570: death of Francesco Melzi.

1589: Henry, grandson of Marguerite de Navarre and grand-grandson of Louise of Savoy, but by paternal descent a Bourbon, is becoming French king as Henry IV.

2015: an exhibition at the Château of Loches is dedicated to the 1539 meeting of king and emperor (see here).

Here we look at another Valois court style portrait. This time it is Caterina de’ Medici being represented (c. 1536), who was married to the second son (Henri) of Francis I (the future Henri II). And if you would think that she might have been the one who might have brought a Salvator Mundi painting with her, from Italy to Fontainebleau or other places associated with the French monarchy, it is the green background, here as in the (virtually reconstructed) Salvator Mundi painting that makes this rather unlikely. Or do you think she might have brought a real treasure with her, a painting by the master of masters, Leonardo da Vinci, and she did allow that such untouchable masterpiece was retouched in green by a Valois court artist? Only to have it match with the background colour of (many) official Valois court style portraits?