Art and Power
December, 2002
On a recent visit to Montreal I enjoyed a tradition established by my father when I was a child -- Sunday visits to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. This year, we had a look at the Art and Power exhibit, which explores how Cardinal Richelieu, one of the greatest—and most ruthless—statesmen in the history of France, employed the visual arts to gain his political objectives.
As prime minister to Louis XIII (1624 to 1642) Cardinal Richelieu, “used his immense power to bring the country to a position of unrivalled political dominance and cultural pre-eminence that lasted until the Revolution of 1789. Richelieu, who founded the Académie Française (in part to codify the French language) in 1634 and the Imprimerie Royale in 1640,… brilliantly orchestrated his patronage of the great artists, architects, and intellectuals of his day to promote his personal ambitions and political goals…
Hercules Vanquishing Diomedes
"Powerful messages that recur in his commissions, include the glory of France, the glory of God, the virtue of loyal service to the crown and against heresy and discord… Cardinal Richelieu was concerned with upholding Catholic orthodoxy while maintaining unity within a kingdom possessing a vocal and militant Protestant minority.” (Montreal Museum of Fine Arts)
Many of the paintings are allegorical, drawing upon biblical stories or Roman myths to communicate Richelieu’s agenda. While some of the art is masterful, other pieces are ghastly and nothing more than propaganda. Nevertheless, the most interesting aspect of the exhibit, is how Richelieu leveraged art to wield power.
Art has played a role in communicating power throughout history.
Many of the world’s most powerful rulers were also patrons of the arts, including Suleyman, Elizabeth I, and the Medicis.
Suleyman, who ruled Ottoman Empire from 1520-1566, established the city of Constantinople (modern Istanbul) as the centre of power for the Ottoman Empire and strategically used the arts as a means of communicating power.
“Istanbul in the middle of the sixteenth century was architecturally the most energetic and innovative city in the world. While he was a brilliant military strategist and canny politician, he was also a cultivator of the arts. Suleyman's poetry is among the best poetry in Islam, and he sponsored an army of artists, religious thinkers, and philosophers that outshone the most educated courts of Europe.” (Richard Hooker http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/OTTOMAN/SULEYMAN.HTM)
Given that the lands the Ottomans ruled (parts of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa) were diverse in language, religion, and culture, rulers such as Suleyman had to consciously create symbols to unite their land and show their power.
Today, as the European Union continues its debate about Identity, and its future, the Turkish newspaper “Hurriyet” in a recent issue, put da Vinci's "Last Supper," on the front page and asked, "Will the E.U. like Christ's last supper, be purely for Christians or will there be a Muslim at the table?"
In another drama being played out between the French and Americans, a $15 million art collection amassed over thirty years by the Bronfman family, will be stripped (some say plundered) from the Seagram Building in New York and sold at auction as the final denouement of a disastrous deal between the Bronfmans and Vivendi. In this case, art is the symbolic means of dismantling a dynasty.
For details see:
http://www.mail-archive.com/futurework@scribe.uwaterloo.ca/msg06738.html
http://www.fortune.com/fortune/ceo/articles/0,15114,389968,00.html
Today empires have been replaced by corporations, but the strategies are the same. We remain a deeply visual culture, and images are often more powerful than words. We use art, architecture and symbols (in the form of logos) to brand, unify, and claim market share/territory.
Let us use our power wisely.
Happy creating,
Linda Naiman
