October 19 2007 Professor Heydt-Stevenson ENG 4574 The DAM and French Pre-Revolution Last weekend my girlfriend and I attended the Denver Art Museums Artisans and Kings exhibit. The exhibit contained many pieces from the Louvre in Paris and I thought that the displays of the exhibit closely paralleled some of the discussions we have had in class pertaining to The French Revolution. The pieces taken from the Louvre were originally in The Palace of Versailles where Louis XIV, (the sun king) built the elaborate palace of decadence and gaudiness designed to show his power over his kingdom. The tour described the French aristocracy of the time as having similar interests as Louis XIV in showing their power through the precise placement of vases and tables to exhibit a familys power. I found this apparent in the descriptions of houses and the elaborate decorations employed in Belinda. Im sorry this is so vague, I just found it fascinating how the two paralleled one another and the way the aristocracy so was interested in using objects to present their power in the household. I also found that some of the pieces in the exhibit reflect some of the Romanticism concepts discussed in class. Although the pieces were created before the French Revolution, it seemed that there were hints towards Romanticism concepts. My favorite piece was an elaborate golden clock, which depicted Cupid, the god of love and Kronos, the god of time, juxtaposed on the top and bottom. Cupid is on the top because love conquers time and I thought that this was an interesting way to depict such a scene. The scene reflects a poetic undertone that I find reminiscent to the juxtaposition of time and mortality in Keats, Ode On a Grecian Urn.
Unfortunately I do not have a picture of the clock as photography was prohibited in the exhibit and I could not pull up the same picture online. So, needless to say the exhibit was an enchanting night with plenty of eye candy and interesting insights into the French aristocracy.