1792 Louvre Residents
Géricault Life
1793 – Bonnet,…de citoyen Lefebvre (detail) Musée Carnavalet.
Introduction
Jean-Marie Roland de la Platière’s letter to Jacques-Louis David of October 17, 1792, is rarely published in its entirety in modern studies of the Louvre, even in French. However, we are as interested in the community of artists living and working in the galleries du Louvre as we are in the objects displayed and stored there. Roland’s letter states clearly that this living/working community had to change to accommodate the needs and ambitions of the new Republican national government. Carle Vernet, Théodore Géricault’s teacher, lived and worked with his family as part of this community.
Gazette Nationale ou Le Moniteur Universel.
N° 296 Lundi 22 Octobre 1792. – L’an 1er de la République Française.
Variétés
Letter from Mr. Roland, Minister of the Interior, to Mr. David, painter and deputy of the National Convention, of 17 October 1792, Year One of the French Republic.
“Yesterday, sir, upon arriving from Versailles, I received a message from you to which I cannot reply without some explanation of the state of things; your position and my own render this necessary. The main question is to establish a Museum in the galeries du Louvre, which has been decreed; and which I, as minister of the interior, must execute and supervise. In this duty I must answer to the nation: and do so according to both the spirit and the letter of the law. This Museum must be built from the great riches which the nation possesses in drawings, paintings, sculptures and other monuments of art; thus, as I conceive it, the Museum must attract all and command their attention; it must nourish tastes for the fine arts, reinspire a class of collectors, and serve as a school for artists. It must be open to all, and each must be able to place his easel before a particular painting, or statue, or drawing and paint or model as he wishes. This will be a national monument, and there will be no individual denied the right to participate. Greece shone above all nations with monuments of this kind: a delicate hand will be guided by all manners of creative genius. France must build its glory out of all times and all peoples; the national Museum will be the site of the most beautiful knowledge, and will be admired by all.
Based upon these grand ideas, worthy of a free people, who desire no domination except by wisdom, who know no other empire but that of reason, who conceive of no glory but that which comes from the highest ideas and most sublime actions, I believe that the Museum will enhance our spirits and, in a very real way, truly elevate our souls and truly rekindle the flames of our hearts; the Museum thus will be one of the most powerful ways to illuminate the French republic.
But I believe that we must commit the entire building to the project, and will therefore take actions accordingly. I believe all the galleries are destined for the Museum, and all the apartments there will be reserved for the guardians of this Museum, or for those whose talents contribute, or have contributed, to enhancing and embellishing this project. Therefore, none will have space there but illustrators, painters, and sculptors. The goldsmiths, the jewelers, the watchmakers, the makers of mathematical instruments, the opticians, the artists, the intellectuals, etc., who play no role in this project, may well deserve space, but they must search elsewhere for the recompense which they merit.
You request, sir, the space occupied by a goldsmith; you are a painter, you have earned fame; you are involved in establishing the Museum, the country has the right to demand great things from you, because it can hope for them, and must from all citizens according to their talents: I therefore accord you the space occupied in the galleries by Mr. Meniere, goldsmith. Consistent in my principle and my conduct, I observe the spirit and the letter of the law, and I will follow no other course as long as this is my charge. I believed this explanation necessary; I think it addresses all the concerns which I must address.”