Daniela Del Pesco. Bernini in France. Paul de Chantelou and the 'Journal de voyage en France du Cavalier Bernin'

Translation by Francesco Mazzaferro
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Daniela Del Pesco

Bernini in Francia.

Paul de Chantelou e il Journal de voyage du Cavalier Bernin en France

[Bernini in France. Paul de Chantelou and the Journal de voyage en France du Cavalier Bernin]

Electa Napoli , 2007

isbn 978-88-510-0374-6

Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Bust of Louis  XIV, 1665

[1] Text of the back cover:

“During summer 1665, Gian Lorenzo Bernini leaves for Paris, while in Rome the yards of his most monumental works are in full swing. His stay in France will be a state affair, imprinted in the annals of the reign of Louis XIV, in letters and in the correspondence of ambassadors. The most powerful king in Europe, important persons in courts and bishop residences, artists and architects, will be all involved. The Journal de voyage en France du Cavalier Bernin, a meticulous diary by Paul Fréart de Chantelou , the "steward" of the king, but also an art expert and an avid collector, daily records this extraordinary network of connections . Along with the key actions and opinions by the knight, it also documents political court life and art plans by minister Colbert; it also illustrates the most famous collections of art and antiquities, the king residences, the aristocracy and new middle class palaces, all dashed with the passion and the knowledge of a real expert. Completely translated into Italian for the first time, this is a vital source in the panorama of art literature; extraordinarily rich in first-hand information, references, theoretical weighted evaluations about art and architecture, artists and institutions. Summing up, a sort of collective autobiography of most vital ferments produced by a refined civilization.”

Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Bust of Cardinal Richelieu, 1641

[2] "A complete translation of the Journal is published herewith for the first time, based on a comparison of the two manuscripts available: the manuscript No 2015 in the library of the Institut de France and the one of the Institut Néerlandais in Paris, tracked in 1969 (Fondation Custodia, Frits Lugt Collection , ms. 9170 ) .

The first manuscript had been published in France in 1877-1884 by Ludovic Lalanne; this is the text against which Stefano Bottari translated into Italian in 1946 only those sections that closely refer to Bernini himself, i.e. around one half of Chantelou’s writing." (pages 7- 8).

Gian Lorenzo Bernini, First Project for the Louvre Palace, 1664
Source http://www.pileface.com/sollers/spip.php?article1572

[3] Compared to the 1946 Bottari edition, the substantial innovations are therefore twofold: the translation is complete and benefits from a comparison between the "manuscript Lalanne - Bottari" and a new specimen, discovered only in 1969. The overall features of the Journal result changed in substance: this is no longer a text finding its raison d'être in an exclusive annalistic purpose, but also a major work of French art literature of its age. In fact, the author does not hesitate to deal with the theoretical foundations of art, such as the ‘art as the imitation of nature’ argument or the dispute on the superiority of sister arts, the judgment on classicism or the debate on Michelangelo and Mannerism: "Faced with political missions such as ... those of Bernini [editor's note, see in particular p. 11-17 ], it is not surprising that the texts by Chantelou (who had been tasked to accompany the Italian guests) have at least two purposes: first, they are reports to keep authorities, like the King and the surintendant Colbert, informed about the behaviour of Italian guests; second, they also are ‘verbatim minutes’ to be archived in the official annals documenting State events... That said, the Journal de Paul Chantelou has to be strongly assessed as going beyond a bare mémoire" (pages 186-187). Most probably, Chantelou enriched the reports - originally intended for Colbert and the King - by adding considerations on several issues discussed in the French art literature at those times. In this sense, "the Journal is not a text exclusively on Bernini, like the biographies by [Domenico] Bernini and Baldinucci, but a survey broadly linked to French realities and situations" (p. 187) . Clearly, the transformation of the text from a simple journey account into a broader theoretical work occurred in close connection with his brother, Roland [Fréart de Chambray]. In many cases, the theoretical parts are almost literal quotations from the writings of Roland, although Paul manifested a less radical classicism" (p. 192). Strictly classicist positions by Roland Fréart de Chambray are in fact widely known: in the Parallèle de l'architecture antique avec la modern (1650) and in the Idée de la perfection de la peinture (1662), his views led him to state the supremacy of the ancients over the moderns and even to express some severe judgments on Michelangelo, against whom he praised Raphael. The thesis put forward by Daniela del Pesco is that the revision of the text and the preparation of the two manuscripts on which this critical edition was conducted, should be traced back to the years 1671-1672 (p. 193).

Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Project for the Louvre Facade Facing the Tuileries, 1665

[4] It is worth referring to two appendices at the end of the volume: the first one contains biographical notes on the persons mentioned in the Journal, and the second one refers to works of art and architecture mentioned in the work by Chantelou.