Allegorical Voyages: Louis XIII and the Sacred

Abstract

Three major characteristics of Baroque aesthetics relate to allegory: metamorphosis, exuberance, and the inducement of vertiginous spaces. The disparity between the real and imaginary voyages of Louis XIII is small when the creative imagination of the author or the artist seeks to transcend the profane reality of which it is the touchstone. The word allegory derives from the Greek “alleon,” meaning “other” or “different.” Spiritual or allegorical truth transforms and regenerates the literal or historic sense of an event.

Cet air, que je ne sçay quoy, Qui fait vivre les images; Et qui rend dignes d’un Roy, Les moindres de ses ouvrages: Cet air qui trompe les sens, A des charmes si puissans, Dans tout ce que fait cet homme, Qu’on peut dire sans trop flatter, Dire qu’Athenes & Rome, Auroient voulu l’imiter.

“Toute l’oeuvre de Callot”, Scudéry. Le Cabinet I, 1646, p. 159.