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| Charles Niehaus, Apotheosis of Saint Louis American, 1903 Saint Louis, MO Photo: Saint Louis Daily Photo Blog |
Saint Louis. To most Americans this name summons up the image of a city on the Mississippi River, known for its monument of the Gateway Arch. It most certainly does not summon up the image of a medieval French king, still less a saint of the Roman Catholic Church.
Louis IX (Capet) combined in one person two kinds of people that we normally think of as incompatible, king and saint.
He was born in 1214 and became king at the age of twelve. He was king from 1226-1270 when he died in Tunis, on his second attempt to retake North Africa and the Holy Land from the Muslim Turks.
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Near Contemporary Image of Saint Louis from the Great Reliquary
of the Sainte Chapelle
French, c. 1275-1325
Paris, Musée de Cluny, Musée national du Moyen Age
The statue above, completed shortly after the death of Saint Louis, is probably the closest we can come to an actual likeness of the saint/king.
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| *Jean-Alexandre Chertier after Eugene Viollet-le-Duc, Reliquary Bust of Saint Louis (Louis IX), French, c. 1867-1869 Paris, Cathedral de Notre-Dame de Paris, Treasury This reliquary bust of Saint Louis was a replacement for an original made in 1306 by the goldsmith Guillaume Julien which was melted down for its silver content during the French Revolution. It was reproduced as close to what was known of the original as possible by the goldsmith Jean-Alexandre Chertier following drawings by Eugene Viollet-le-Duc, the architect responsible for the restoration of Notre-Dame in the second half of the nineteenth century. |
During his lifetime he was known internationally as a lover of justice, a friend of the poor, very devoted to God and to the Church. His life is very well documented, both in the historical record and from the descriptions that were written down as part of the papal investigation into his life that was carried out after his death to determine his sanctity. He was canonized in 1297. His feast day was set as August 25, the date of his death.
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Saint Louis Carrying the Crown of Thorns French (Tours), 1245-1248 New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Cloisters Collection This stained glass, made during the lifetime of Saint Louis, shows Louis and his brothers. Saint Louis carries the reliquary of the Crown of Thorns. 2 |
One of the witnesses in the papal investigation was the noble, Jean, Lord of Joinville, a companion of St. Louis on the Seventh Crusade. The memoir was subsequently published in succeeding decades.
Joinville relates a charming story of an event during the Seventh Crusade that demonstrates how Louis was viewed during his own lifetime.
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| The Boucicaut Master, Departure of Saint Louis for the Crusade Cutting from Tresors des histoires French (Paris), c.1400 Paris, Musée du Louvre MS RF1929-recto |
Joinville relates a charming story of an event during the Seventh Crusade that demonstrates how Louis was viewed during his own lifetime.
“Journeying day by day we came to the sands of Acre, where the king and the host encamped. At that place came to me a great troop of people from Great Armenia, who were going on pilgrimage to Jerusalem, having paid a great tribute to the Saracens, by whom they were conducted. By an interpreter, who knew their language and ours, they besought me to show them the sainted king. I went to the king there where he sat in a pavilion, leaning against the pole of the pavilion; and he sat upon the sand, without a carpet, and without anything else under him. I said to him: "Sire, there is here outside a great troop of people from Great Armenia, going to Jerusalem; and they pray me, sire, to cause the sainted king to be shown to them; but I have no desire as yet to kiss your bones." He laughed aloud, and told me to go and fetch them; and so I did. And when they had seen the king they commended him to God, and the king commended them to God likewise.”1
There is, in this story, something touching and something that rings very true. Joinville’s joke and Louis’ laughter remind me of recently dead people who were widely considered to be saintly, even before their deaths, such as Mother Teresa of Calcutta and Pope John Paul II. Like them, St. Louis was aware of his own faults and amused by the idea that others found him saintly.
Saint Louis as Patron of Art and Architecture
However, the subject of this blog is not sanctity, per se, but art. And, in that realm, Louis was one of the greatest patrons of art in the 13th century. His record of building is extensive, but one building in particular stands out. This is the Sainte Chapelle in Paris.
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| Sainte-Chapelle Paris French, c. 1239-1248 |
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| Sainte-Chapelle Paris French, c. 1239-1248 |
Built between 1239 and 1248 and originally part of the royal palace complex on the Ile-de-la-Cite, the Sainte Chapelle was designed as a precious container for the extremely precious relics that Louis had purchased from the Latin Emperor of Constantinople and acquired from other sources. These included a fragment of the True Cross found by Saint Helena, the Crown of Thorns, a nail from the Crucifixion and other relics related to the Passion of Christ.
The chapel, which has often been compared to a reliquary, is famous for its precious stained glass windows, and is one of the finest and most influential buildings of the High Gothic style known as Rayonnant.
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| View of the vaults |
Although the building was seriously damaged during the French Revolution, the jewel-like 13th-century stained glass windows are almost entirely intact, surprisingly thanks to that same Revolution. Apparently, following the Revolution, the relics were removed from the Chapel and their reliquaries sold off. (The relics were, however, preserved and, rehoused in new reliquaries, are kept in Notre-Dame Cathedral where they can be venerated at special times.) # See note at end of article.
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| +Eugene Viollet-le-Duc, Reliquary for the Crown of Thorns French, 1862 Paris, Cathedral of Notre-Dame The Shrine was made by the goldsmiths Poussielgue-Rusand to designs by Eugene Viollet-le-Duc, the architect responsible for the restoration of Notre-Dame de Paris n the second half of the nineteenth century. |
The Chapel was used as an office and high cabinets were placed against the windows. After the revolutionary period ended the Chapel was restored under the direction of the famous (and sometimes infamous) antiquarian Viollet-le-Duc.
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| View of the Interior from above. |
The Sainte Chapelle now stands alone. The palace of which it once formed a part was destroyed in later centuries, sometimes by fire, sometimes by deliberate destruction. It now stands in the midst of the Palais de Justice, whose buildings date primarily from the Second Empire period of the mid-19th century.
The building is small and has two stories.
The under story, which opened to the ground level, was used as a parish church by the palace staff. It has mostly solid walls, with only small window openings.
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| Lower Story, Sainte-Chapelle |
The upper story had an entrance for the king directly from the palace. Here there are virtually no walls but the glass itself. The stone elements appear to be minimal.
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| Upper Story, Sainte Chapelle, looking toward the altar |
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| Upper Story, Sainte Chapelle, looking toward the entrance |
The tall, narrow windows are composed of figured roundels, ovals, diamonds and other geometric shapes with stories from the Old and New Testament, especially stories related to kingship. The spaces between the roundels are filled with patterned decorations.
Not only was Louis a patron of architecture, he was a patron of manuscript painting.
The Pierpont Morgan Library in New York holds a famous manuscript, the Morgan Picture Bible, that is believed to have been painted for Louis.
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Other libraries also have manuscripts that are associated with Louis, such as the Psalter held at the Bibliothéque nationale de France.
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The Life of Saint Louis in Manuscripts
After his death and canonization Saint Louis became one of the patron saints of France and aspects of his life were frequently shown in historical books and books of royal administration.
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+Saint Louis From Register of laws of the hotel du roi French (Paris), 1320 Paris, Archives nationales MS AEII327 |
,%20Louis%20IX%20&%20the%20poor_Vie%20de%20Saint%20Louis%20by%20Guillaume%20de%20Saint-Pathus_Paris,%20c.%201330-1340_Paris,%20BNF_MS%20Francais%205716,%20fol.%20137r.jpg) |
| +Mahiet (Master of the Lives of Saint Louis), Louis IX and the poor From Vie de Saint Louis by Guillaume de Saint-Pathus French (Paris), c. 1330-1340 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Francais 5716, fol. 137r |
,%20Louis%20IX%20Teaching_Vie%20de%20Saint%20Louis%20by%20Guillaume%20de%20Saint-Pathus_Paris,%20c.%201330-1340_Paris,%20BNF_MS%20Francais%205716,%20fol.%2043v.jpg) |
+Mahiet (Master of the Lives of Saint Louis), Louis IX Teaching From Vie de Saint Louis by Gillaume de Saint-Pathus French (Paris), c. 1330-1340 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Francais 5716, fol. 44r |
,%20Louis%20IX%20Reading%20the%20Bible_Vie%20de%20Saint%20Louis%20by%20Guillaume%20de%20Saint-Pathus_Paris,%20c.%201330-1340_Paris,%20BNF_MS%20Francais%205716,%20fol.%2085v.jpg) |
+Mahiet (Master of the Lives of Saint Louis), Louis IX reading the Bible From Vie de Saint Louis by Gillaume de Saint-Pathus French (Paris), c. 1330-1340 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Francais 5716, fol. 86r |
,%20Louis%20IX%20Dispensing%20Justince_Vie%20de%20Saint%20Louis%20by%20Guillaume%20de%20Saint-Pathus_Paris,%20c.%201330-1340_Paris,%20BNF_MS%20Francais%205716,%20fol.%20245v.jpg) |
+Mahiet (Master of the Lives of Saint Louis), Louis IX Giving Justice From Vie de Saint Louis by Gillaume de Saint-Pathus French (Paris), c. 1330-1340 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Francais 5716, fol. 246r |
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+Master of the Roman de Fauvel, Arrest of Louis IX From Historia of William of Tyre French (Paris), 1337 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Francais 22495, fol. 294v |
,%20c.%201375-1380_Paris,%20BNF_MS%20Francais%202813,%20fol.%20290r_2.jpg) |
+Homage of Henry III of England to Louis IX From Grandes chroniques de France de Charles V French (Paris), c. 1375-1380 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Francais 2813, fol. 290r The King of England is paying homage to the King of France for his family property on the Continent, such as Calais and the area around Bordeaux. These areas of France were under English control and the kings of England were, therefore, vassals of the kings of France for them. |
,%20c.%201275-1300_Paris,%20BNF+MS%20Francais%202628,%20fol.%20328v)2.jpg) |
| +The Departure of Louis IX for the Crusade From Historia of William of Tyre Palestinian (Crusader), c. 1275-1300 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Francais 2628, fol. 328v |
,%201396_Paris,%20BNF_MS%20Francais%20314,%20fol.%20424r_2.jpg) |
+Louis IX as a Prisoner From a Speculum historiale of Vincent of Beauvais French (Paris), 1396 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Francais 314, fol. 424r |
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| +The Death of Saint Louis From Le Livre des faits de Monseigneur Saint Louis French, 15th Century Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Francais 2829, fol. 78v |
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A Saint Among Other Saints
He was also featured as a saint among other saints in decorative projects, as for example, at Assisi and elsewhere.
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+Simone Martini, Saint Louis of France and Saint Louis of Toulouse Italian, 1317 Assisi, Basilica of St. Francis, Chapel of St. Martin |
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| +Cristobal de Villalpando, The Blessed Sacrament Adored by Saints Gregory the Great and Louis of France Mexican, c. 1690-1699 Mexico City, Private Collection |
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+Giambattista Tiepolo, Saints Augustine, Louis of France and John Italian, c. 1740-1760 Lille, Palais des Beaux-Arts |
And he was especially honored by his own descendants, the Royal Families of France and Spain. He appeared in paintings that present him as saint, as king and as family patron.
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Gerard Horenbout, Saint Louis presenting Louis XII in Prayer
Cutting from a manuscript
Flemish, c.1490
Paris, Musée du Louvre
RF 1699-Bis-recto |
_c.1555-1566+BNF_Francais%202848_fol.%2099v_2.jpg) |
Master of Henri II, Saint Louis From the Recueil des rois de France by Jean de Tillet French (Paris), c. 1555-1566 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Francais 2848, fol. 99v |
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Antoine Caron. Kings of France
Extract from L'Histoire Francoyse de nostre temps
French (Paris), c. 1560-1580
Paris, Musée du Louvre
The album was part of a gift from Nicolas Houel, a Parisian apothecary, to Catherine de Medici who was ruling as Regent during this period for her son, Charles IX |
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El Greco, Saint Louis
Spanish, c. 1592-1595
Paris, Musée du Louvre |
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Luis Tristan, Saint Louis Distributing Alms
Spanish, c.1600
Paris, Musée du Louvre |
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| Claudio Coello, The Virgin and Child Adored by Saint Louis, King of France Spanish, c. 1665 Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado |
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Charles LeBrun, Louis XIV presented by Saint Louis to the Risen Christ
French, 1674
Lyon, Musée des Beaux-Arts |
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| Louis Boullogne the Younger, Saint Louis Placing the Crown of Thorns in the Sainte Chapelle French, c. 1700 Paris, Musée du Louvre |
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| Charles de La Fosse, Apotheosis of Saint Louis French, c.1702-1705 Paris, Musée de l'Armée, Les Invalides |
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Jean Jouvenet, Saint Louis Interceding for the Wounded after the Battle of Mansourah in Egypt in 1250
French, 1709
Versailles, Chateaux de Versailles et de Trianon |
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| Charles-Antoine Coypel, St. Louis Receiving the Crown of Thorns (with the features of Louis XV) French, 1745 Nantes, Musée des Beaux-Arts |
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| Jean-Francois de Troy, Saint Louis Placing the Crown on the Head of the Sleeping Henri IV French, c. 1728-1733 Pau, Musée national du chateau de Pau |
This continued right up to the very eve of the French Revolution.
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Charles Van Loo, Coronation of Saint Louis
French, c. 1770-1780
Paris, Chapel of the École militaire |
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Gabriel-Francois Doyen, Saint. Louis Receiving His Last Communion
French, c.1770
Paris, Chapel of the École militaire |
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Joseph Marie Vien the Elder, Saint Louis and his wife, Marguerite de Provence, Visiting Saint Thibaud of Marly
French, 1774
Versailles, Chateaux de Versailles et de Trianon |
During the period of the French Revolution and Napoleonic Empire (1789-1815) such images were, for obvious reasons, no longer produced.
However, with the restoration of the Bourbon Monarchy in 1815 St. Louis rapidly made his reappearance in French painting.
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Charles Meynier, Last Communion of Saint Louis at Tunis in 1270
French, 1817
Versailles, Chateaux de Versailles et de Trianon |
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Francois Marius Granet, Louis IX Delivering Prisoners from Captivity at Damietta
French, 1819
Fontainebleau, Chateau |
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| Anonymous, Death of Saint Louis French, c. 1820-1830 Brest, Musée des Beaux-Arts |
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| Georges Rouget, Death of Saint Louis before Tunis French, c. 1820-1830 Versailles, Chateaux de Versailles et de Trianon |
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Georges Rouget, St. Louis Announcing His Decision as Arbiter Between Henry III of England and His Barons
French, 1820
Versailles, Chateaux de Versailles et de Trianon |
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Georges Rouget, Saint Louis Receiving the Envoys of Rachid-el-Din at St. Jean d'Acre
French, c. 1820-1825
Versailles, Chateaux de Versailles et de Trianon |
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Georges Rouget, Saint Louis Dispensing Justice Under the Oak at Vincennes
French, 1824
Versailles, Chateaux de Versailles et de Trianon |
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Charles Thevenin, Saint Louis Depositing the Crown of Thorns in the Sainte Chapelle of Paris in 1248
French, 1825
Versailles, Chateaux de Versailles et de Trianon |
However, this time there was a difference in the subject matter. Instead of iconographic scenes depicting Louis as a Christian saint, the images were drawn from historic episodes from his life. This was in keeping with both the new secularism of the French state and with the historicizing mood typical of the Romantic period.
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Guillaume Guillon Lethière, Heroic Steadfastness of Saint Louis at Damietta May 1250
French, 1827
Versailles, Chateaux de Versailles et de Trianon |
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Charles Marie Bouton, Saint Louis before the tomb of his Mother, Queen Blanche
French, c. 1830-1840
Fontainebleau, Chateau |
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Georges Rouget, Landing of Saint Louis at Damietta in Egypt, 4 June 1249
French, c.1830-1840
Versailles, Chateaux de Versailles et de Trianon
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Many of these images appear to have been commissioned for the redecoration of the royal palaces at Versailles and at Fontainebleau and patronage appears to have continued under Louis-Philippe, from a branch of the royal stock, who came to the throne as a constitutional monarch after the upheavals of 1830-1831.
While the names of most of the painters who contributed the majority of these pictures are unknown to all but specialists today, two of the greatest names in 19th century French painting also contributed their interpretations of St. Louis and his life.
While the names of most of the painters who contributed the majority of these pictures are unknown to all but specialists today, two of the greatest names in 19th century French painting also contributed their interpretations of St. Louis and his life.
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Eugene Delacroix, Battle of Taillebourg, 21 July 1242
French, 1837
Versailles, Chateaux de Versailles et de Trianon |
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Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Saint Louis
Window for chapel of Saint Ferdinand
French, 1842
Paris, Musée du Louvre
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Images of St. Louis as saint, king and patron of France continued to be produced all through the remainder of the nineteenth century.
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| Anonymous, Landing of Saint Louis in the Holy Land French, c.1840 Paris, Musée du Louvre |
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Emile Signol, Saint Louis in 1226
French, 1844
Versailles, Chateaux de Versailles et de Trianon
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| Jean Antoine Theodore de Gudin, Death of Saint Louis before Tunis, 25 August 1270 French, 1844 Versailles, Chateaux de Versailles ed de Trianon |
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| Jean-Marie Oscar Gue, Saint Louis Receiving Robert, Patriarch of Jerusalem at Damietta French, 1847 Versailles_Chateaux de Versailles et de Trianon |
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Alexandre Cabanel, Glorification of Saint Louis
French, 1855
Monpellier, Musée Fabre |
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Pierre Charles Marquis, Saint Louis Accompanied by his Mother, Blanche of Castille
French, 1857
Rennes, Musée des Beaux-Arts |
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Sebastien-Melchoir Cornu, Saint Louis
Decoration for a Chapel in the Elyséee Palace
French, c, 1860
Paris, Musée du Louvre |
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In 1874 the painter Alexandre Cabanel received the commission to paint part of the decorative cycle of the history of France in the Pantheon, the former church of Saint Genevieve, converted during the Revolution to a monument to French notables. His subject was the life of Saint Louis, representing the Capetian dynasty.
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Alexandre Cabanel, Life of Saint Louis
French, c. 1874-1878
Paris, Pantheon |
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Alexandre Cabanel, Education of Saint Louis by His Mother
from Life of Saint Louis
French, c. 1874-1878
Paris, Pantheon |
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| Alexandre Cabanel, Saint Louis as a Prisoner in Palestine French, c. 1874-1878 Paris, Pantheon |
In 1880 Charles Lameire contributed the design of a mosaic featuring Saint Louis and his predecessor, Charlemagne (who is sometimes given the dignity of sainthood), to the construction of the new basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourviere in Lyon, which began in 1872 and was completed in 1896.
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Charles Lameire, Sketch for Mosaic of Charlemagne and Saint Louis
for the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourviere (Lyon)
French, c.1880-1890
Paris. Musée d'Orsay |
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| Luc Olivier Merson, Saint Louis between the Church and Saint Thomas Aquinas Study for church of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Paris French, c. 1888 Paris, Musée d'Orsay |
Images continued to be made into the twentieth century, as well.
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Alphonse Osbert, Sketch for the Glory of the Reign of Saint Louis
French, c. 1913
Paris, Musée d'Orsay
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© M. Duffy, 2011, updated with additional images 2016 and 2017. Select images refreshed and additional images added 2024.
+Indicates refreshed image
*Indicates new image
# During the terrible fire of April 15, 2019, which destroyed the roof and some of the vaults of Notre-Dame de Paris, interest focused on the attempts of the fire brigade, staff and clergy of the cathedral to rescue the most important objects stored there. The world in general probably learned about these relics for the first time because of this.
Then, during the strange COVID-19 epidemic of 2020, the Crown of Thorns was venerated in a portion of Notre-Dame de Paris that was spared by the fire. The veneration was made available to the entire world via the internet.
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1. Memoirs of the Crusades by Villehardouin and de Joinville, edited by Sir Frank T. Marzials, New York, E.P. Dutton & Co., 1958, p. 277.
2. Notes from Metropolitan Museum collection database at http://www.metmuseum.org/works_of_art/collection_database/all/king_louis_ix_carrying_the_crown_of_thorns/objectview.aspx?page=1&sort=6&sortdir=asc&keyword=louis ix&fp=1&dd1=0&dd2=0&vw=1&collID=0&OID=70011727&vT=1&hi=0&ov=0
* For more information about the fire, the rebuilding and the religious and art treasures held within the building see:
a) https://www.friendsofnotredamedeparis.org/notre-dame-cathedral/ This is a good source of basic information and wonderful pictures of the cathedral and the work of rebuilding and restoration that has been ongoing since 2019.
b) Link to a publication in connection with the exhibition "The Treasury of Notre-Dame de Paris: From Its Origins to Viollet-le-Duc" held at the Louvre from October 18, 2023 to January 29, 2024. Unfortunately, the document is only available in French, but contains much information and several photos.
