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Roy Soleil and Prince Mardy Gras
An Interpretation of
the Arlequin Jason Prints in the Copenhagen Recueil
Fossard
Bent Holm (Copenhagen)
Documentation et Art de
l'Acteur
Records and Images of the Art of the Performer
18ème Congrès
International, Stockholm 3-7 septembre 1990
18th International Congress, Stockholm 3-7 September 1990
Editor: Barbro Stribolt (Drottningholms Teatermuseum).
Stockholm : 1992, p. 57-61
For some
years I have been working on a reconstruction and
interpretation of the "Cabinet Fossard" - so
called to distinguish it from the "Recueil
Fossard", the part of the Cabinet published in 1928
by Agne Beijer and Pierre Louis Duchartre. Most of the
vast collection project now is lost. But descriptions and
scattered fragments make it possible to establish an
impression of this unique Cabinet. And so to place it in
a contemporary context - in the glorious time of the Roy
Soleil, Louis XIV.
As a person Fossard till now has been totally anonymous -
to theatre historians. Whereas in history of music he is
not at all unknown, being one of the two "Gardes de
la Musique du Roy", keepers of the Music Library at
Versailles.
His younger colleague was the famous musician and
composer André Danican Philidor. After the death of
Fossard Philidor erased his name in a number of musicalia
and replaced it with his own; so there are different
reasons for Fossard's anonymity - but the main one is
social: his position in the royal planetarium as a
musician was humble.
An important aspect of Fossard's activity as a music
librarian was the making of lists of musicalia in the
"Bibliothèque de la Musique du Roy" at
Versailles, a historical systematization and
perspectivation with clear analogue to his private print
collection project, his Cabinet. The main themes in the
Cabinet are "Fête" and "Spectacle".
As a member of the King's intimate, personal orchestra
"les petits Violons du Cabinet" Fossard's
activities as a musician are connected with exactly these
fields; so on a historical-biographical level his
projects as "garde", musician and
"collectioneur" are linked together.
The model for his Cabinet is Louis XIV's magnificent
"Cabinet du Roy", the collection of prints
reflecting the King's glory and triumph. On a humble
level Fossard practices an imitatio regis as a
sort of social compensation, which as a matter of fact
has secured his name a place in theatre history. Except
his first name - which certainly not was
"Recueil", even if one might be tempted to
believe so as Fossard always is mentioned in that
connection. He was baptized François.
As for further biographical dates and documents I refer
to my book about this issue (Bent Holm, Solkonge og
månekejser, Copenhagen, Gyldendal, 1991, with a
summary in French).
Fragments of the Fossard Cabinet can be found in
different archives. The "Recueil Fossard" is
e.g. preserved at the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm. Two
other parts can be seen at the Kongelige Bibliotek
(National Library) in Copenhagen. How they have come to
end there is a total mystery; Tessin who brought the
"Recueil Fossard" to Sweden later on became
ambassador in Copenhagen - but as this was in the time of
the darkest pietism at the Danish court it is excluded
that he brought the prints as a gift: theatre, masquerade
e. sim. were de facto prohibited in Denmark for a
couple of decades.
The royal Danish attitude resembles the one of Louis XIV
when he threw the Italian players out of Paris as a
religious-symbolic act, only that the Danes, not being
catholics but protestants, to a higher extent reacted
literally, not symbolically.
Parts of the "Danish" Fossard collection have
been published by, among others, Torben Krogh, the first
professor of theatre history in Denmark. An analysis
based on a broader iconographic context has not yet been
attempted. The prints most oftenly published (T. Krogh,
Kl. Neiiendam, R. Erenstein) show scenes from Théâtre
Italien harlequinades: "Arlequin Protée",
"Arlequin grand Visir" (which is not found in
the Gherardi text edition; so the prints are our only
source to a performance) - and "Arlequin Jason"
which I shall discuss closer in the following.
Traditionallly these prints are considered to be some
kind of public relation material: a sort of visual
publicity that should make the audience spend their money
on the Italian comedy. So their function seems to be well
defined - and no need for further analysis is seen to be
urgent. But as a matter of fact these prints are not
advertising series; and consequently they have to be
read, interpreted, in a new and different way, according
to their real nature. This different way of reading also
throws a different light on the role played by the actors
in the Théâtre Italien seen in a broad context of the
Roy Soleil era.
The fact is that what is considered different series in
the Fossard collection in reality are almanacs split by
Fossard and scattered and mounted in a rather chaotic
way. Once this point is clear it is obvious what the
interpretation key is going to be: one has to find out
what characterized the concept of almanacs in general,
and try to compare the Harlequinesque ones with more
genuine examples.
It now turns out that almanacs are one of the regime's
favourite propaganda genres, celebrating a triumph, a
victory, the birth of a royal child, a wedding e. sim.
The composition of the gravure conventionally consists of
a main part showing the important event, normally with
the King in the principal role; this field is surrounded
with minor sceneries which accompany and comment the
central scene. Cliché inscriptions are "Triomphe
de...", "La glorieuse conqueste de..." e.
sim. Underneath the calendar is seen. In the pompous
almanacs the calendar function seems absolutely
secondary.
If we look upon the Harlequinesque almanacs it can
immediately be seen that the structure, the composition,
in details reproduce the image of the pompous official
ones: they are grotesque upside-down versions of the
visual panegyrics to the divine Majesty, the Roy Soleil;
they consist of a big main field showing an important
bourlesque episode and framed by smaller situations from
the comedy. And, which is utmost significant in relation
to the interpretation of the actors' position in the
time, the person who carries out the great and
(mock-)heroic deeds, and so to speak replaces the King in
the pre-existing imagery, is not unexpectedly Harlequin,
in the vigorous shape of Domenico Biancolelli, the famous
"Dominique". He seems to be a sort of Prince of
Fools.
A Lord of Misrule.
This is generally spoken of the Théâtre Italien
almanacs of the Copenhagen Collection Fossard. If we then
turn specifically to the "Arlequin Jason"
almanac we see that Fossard in his characteristic way has
cut it to pieces and spread it in the volume according to
principles no longer obvious. But it is easily
reconstructed. The a1l-dominant gravure here is entitled
"Triomphe d'Arlequin Jason", i.e. a twisting of
the verbal cliché from the royal genre (1).
It is
edited in 1685; from that same year among
the serious almanacs one could mention "La prise de
la ville de Luxembourg", "Les actions
héroiques de Louis-le-Grand", "Gênes
bombardée par l'armée navale de la France" etc. On
the "Triomphe d'Arlequin Jason" picture our
hero returns with his brave Argonauts from a naval
victory...
So in different ways it seems to refer to an actual
reality: but before we look at the relevant gravures for
a closer analysis and interpretation I have to say two
words about the "Comédie burlesque"
"Arlequin Jason ou la Toison d'or" which
was played for the first time at the Hôtel de Bourgogne
the 9th of September 1684. It was a harsh parody of
Corneille's "La toison d'or", the pompous play
originally created by the famous tragic author in 1660 on
occasion of the peace between France and Spain and the
wedding between Louis and Maria Theresia of Austria:
"L'heureux mariage de sa majesté et la paix qu'il a
plût donner à ses peuples..." as the text says.
The performance was an abundant homage to the universal
dimensions of royal power; during the entrée of the
argonautes appeared am. oth. "Junon et Pallas
chacune dans son char". At the end three
"théâtres" are presented on the stage: the
Earth, and the palaces of the Sun and of Jove. In 1683
the play was brought on the stage again by the Comédiens
du Roy on the Hôtel de Guénégaud. The year after we
have the grotesque Italian "Jason"; and in 1685
the almanac splendidly illustrating the farcical
buffooneries.
In the comedy the furiously jealous Medea magically
transforms the hero Jason into Ar1equin. As already
mentioned Arlequin Jason later on returns from a naval
battle, in victorious triumph. The procession makes halt,
and "pendant que la reine descend du balcon,
Arlequin descend de son char, et tombe. Les Argonautes,
qui sont Scaramouche et Pasquariel, font faire des
Courbettes à leurs chevaux, dont Arlequin a
peur..." The big gravure, ca. 40 times 50 cm., shows
us the pathetic moment of the heroic entrée: Arlequin on
the "char", Pasquariel and Scaramouche, and
trumpeters, on grotesque hobby-horses; the queen is
waiting for them on the balcony.
It is obvious that the situation and a number of signs
refer to the expressive universe of the régime. If we
therefore for a moment return to the fact that it is an
almanac we are observing I should like to involve an
example from the serious area for comparison. It is an
almanac from the year 1683, i.e. two years before the
Italian heroic spectacle; it was edited on occasion of
the birth of the Duke of Bourgogne. (2)
The all
dominating figure is the Ruler, Louis, who drives over
all peoples of the worid in a magnificent antique
triumphal car, drawn by four fleur de lys decorated
horses. Le Roy himself appears as a classic god: Apollo
or the Sun - with moustache and allonge wig. Beams
iradiate from his head - he is "Le Soleil de la
France", as the text explains; the creator of life
for all earthly creatures. All nations are gathered under
the god: Asia, Europe, Africa, America.
Obviously, they look upwards by this epiphany, like the
shepherds on the field at the birth ot the Saviour (and
we have to remember that a divine birth is celebrated in
the engraving) ; or an apotheosis, as the ones shown on
trompe l'oeil religious ceiling paintings: the Assumption
of St. Ignazio of Loyola in heaven in the S. Ignazio
Church in Rome (by Andrea del Pozzo) shows exactly the
same gathering of personifications of the four
continents. Or it reminds us of a Doom's Day: the four
horses, the Father God appearing in the clouds etc.
All nature, too, is gathered to praise the divine King:
symbolic animals and trees - an occidental deciduous tree
and an "oriental" palm, connoting the
arch-"entrée", the one of the Messiah in
Jerusalem.
This dissipation in signs, in fields of significance on a
certain level communicates eternity, omnipresence - and
omnipotence. The text tells us that Louis is the giver of
"fertilité" and "felicité". The
image of a "primitive" god-king is drawn in all
details.
Now let us look for a second time at the "Arlequin
Jason" gravure, the triumphant entrée of the
mythical prince, very close in time on the Roy Soleil
image as we saw it is. Strangely enough the scene is
framed by a palm and a deciduous tree. And all the
conventional elements are found: the animal-drawn
chariot, the trophies, the military symbols, the
trumpeters etc. The "roman" reference is rather
consequently carried out.
But something is completely wrong. The expression is
seriously disturbed from other areas of significance.
There is "noise" in the message. Not only is
the animalesque Arlequin the central person; but his
triumphal car is drawn by - pigs! And amongst the
trophies we find a pig's head, sausages, ham and
"parmesan" cheese! Arlequin is accompanied by a
monkey, his "double". Man and beast
intermingle. As the commenting verse says:
Ces spectacles sont fort nouuaux
De voir dans le siècle ou nous sommes,
Des hommes porter les cheuaux,
Ou des cheuaux changez en hommes
referring to the hobby-horses.
All these signs are unmistakably taken from one specific
area, namely that of Carnival. Carnival iconography shows
us exactly this picture of the well-fed festivity leader,
the "King of Carnival" that is drawn in from
the left to the right (: the "active"
direction), surrounded by his grotesque attendants and
furnished with arms and equipment related to abundance,
pork, kitchen e. sim. This is e.g. exactly what is seen
in Breughel's "Combat of Carnival and Lent"
1559 (3).
A French print by François Langlois shows the same
picture (4); and maybe the most interesting one: "Le
Triomphe de Mardy Gras" (5) by Nicolas Bonnart, a
brother to the Jean-Baptiste Bonnart who created the
Harlequinesque almanacs; here we see the conventional
kitchen furniture, the sausages etc. This print
originates from the same workshop as "Le triomphe
d'Arlequin Jason".
One now has to ask if all those similarities are mere
coincidence, products of my maybe too creative
imagination... But another verse on the print proves that
not only is this interpretation objectively correct - the
Carnival reference was also subjectively conscious to the
comedians. The verse goes as follows:
Je crois que les amis des pots et de table le (:
the triumph of Arlequin Jason) prendront pour celuy du
Prince Mardy Gras
In other words: not only do the comedians reproduce an
image of the Roy Soleil in a slightly transformed
version; they also refer precisely to a Carnival universe
well known to their audience - and they know exactly what
they do!
It is well known that at the end of the 17th century the
anti-Carnival and -Charivari campaign with origin in the
Counter-reformation crusade against the "pagan"
and "chaotic" popular culture intensified; the
demonization tendencies even had an effect in the
anti-theatre campaign: for moral/religious reasons the
Roy Soleil threw out the Italian comedians of Paris,
accusing them to be obscene in words and gestures.
The "Arlequin Jason" print shows us that there
is a connection between the grotesque anti-universe of
the Théâtre Italien players and a world upside-down
outside the theatre which was intolerable to the régime.
So it is no coincidence that exactly the demonstratively
profane Italians ended up as symbolic victims of the
theological anti-theatre campaign in Paris in the
(:1690ies).
About at the same time (:1699) Fossard, according to
Daniel Cronström, shows the Cabinet to the King. His
hope is that the King will take over his big collection,
and so make it/him immortal. In vain. After his death in
1702 his heirs try to make the King buy it en bloc.
In vain. I think there may be obvious reasons why the
king is not interested in at least parts of the Italian
images. The court jester had been thrown out. The King
had become a devout Christian.
These points can not be read out of the litarary
text, the stage directions or sim. They can only be found
in the iconographic dimension, and only by involving
non-theatrical imagery that reflects the contemporary
reality.
18th Congress
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