Recherches sur l'iconographie des fêtes de cour en France (1515-1589)

Dealing with the iconography of fetes in the Renaissance means investigating into humanism and the neo Platonist currents of thought which influenced the artists of the time and led to the syncretism of arts in court celebrations.In the ephemeral art of revels -entries, masquerades, balls and ballets- the costumes of mythical figures from the Bible or the Antiquity were then brought back to the fashion of the sixteenth century with a playful twist and updated through the new themes inspired by the Great Explorations, such as the contrast between the exoticism of the New World and the traditions of the Old World. Along with those codes, the establishment of a new decorum allowed the evolution of the notion of performance and of the places best suited for theatricals. Social and political issues of a time fraught with religious wars, alliances and peace, also contributed in paving the way for such changes.Celebrations thus proved the quintessential instrument of the assertion of royal power, which turned them into vectors of communication, not to say communion. Both sumptuous and innovative, they foreshadowed the magnificent fetes of the following centuries.