Excommunication de Robert le Pieux-Jean-Paul Laurens-IMG 8140

''The Excommunication of Robert the Pious'' (french: L'Excommunication de Robert le Pieux) is an 1875 painting by

Jean-Paul Laurens Jean-Paul Laurens (; 28 March 1838 – 23 March 1921) was a French painter and sculptor, and one of the last major exponents of the French Academic style. Biography Laurens was born in Fourquevaux and was a pupil of Léon Cogniet and Alexand ...

, held by the

Musée d'Orsay The Musée d'Orsay ( , , ) ( en, Orsay Museum) is a museum in Paris, France, on the Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900. The museum holds mainly French art ...

, in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. It depicts the

excommunication Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

Robert II of France Robert II (c. 972 – 20 July 1031), called the Pious (french: link=no, le Pieux) or the Wise (french: link=no, le Sage), was King of the Franks from 996 to 1031, the second from the Capetian dynasty. Crowned Junior King in 987, he assisted his ...

in the year 998.

History

The painting was exhibited at the

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...

of 1875 and, together with Laurens' other work on display that year, ''L'Interdit'', was generally reckoned to be the finest historical paintings entered. It was bought from the artist by the State in 1875, and exhibited at the

Luxembourg Museum Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

until 1929, when it was transferred to the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

. It has belonged to the collections of the Musée d'Orsay since 1982. The work was Laurens' first after his visit to Italy, which influenced his technique. His use of colour in this painting is noticeably less sober and more animated than in his previous work. It was one of a series of historical paintings by Laurens that depicted various parts of the narrative of Robert the Pious. These were ''L'Interdit'' (1875), showing France being placed under

interdict In Catholic canon law, an interdict () is an ecclesiastical censure, or ban that prohibits persons, certain active Church individuals or groups from participating in certain rites, or that the rites and services of the church are banished from ...

for his refusal to end his relationship with his wife Bertha, and ''Répudiation de la reine Berthe'' (1883), showing their eventual parting.

Interpretation

The painting depicts the moment after the excommunication of Robert II by

Pope Gregory V Pope Gregory V ( la, Gregorius V; c. 972 – 18 February 999), born Bruno of Carinthia, was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 3 May 996 to his death. A member of the Salian dynasty, he was made pope by his cousin, Emperor Ott ...

for refusing to repudiate his second wife, Berthe. Robert was both her second cousin and godfather to her son. As the representatives of the papacy leave the throne room, Robert and Bertha stare into space, in the grip of their dilemma. The royal scepter lies on the ground, and the candle which has been blown out and placed on the ground, as provided for in the ritual of excommunication, is still smoking. The austere decor of the room offers little to distract the viewer from the faces of the two protagonists as they stare with foreboding at the smoking candle before them. They are completely alone, the entire court having abandoned them. Their expressions give an indication of the terrifying scene they have just witnessed.

Jules Claretie Jules is the French form of the Latin "Julius" (e.g. Jules César, the French name for Julius Caesar). It is the given name of: People with the name *Jules Aarons (1921–2008), American space physicist and photographer *Jules Abadie (1876–195 ...

described it as exactly like a theatrical scene, and the work as not so much a painting as a moment before the curtain falls.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Excommunication of Robert the Pious 1875 paintings Paintings by Jean-Paul Laurens Paintings in the Musée d'Orsay History paintings Paintings of couples