Religious Painting in the Enlightenment?
It is tempting to confuse the 18th century with the libertine air and rational spirit of the Enlightenment. However, it should not be forgotten that, throughout the century, orders were placed for Paris churches which are very significant from the point of view of both quality and quantity. While the painting by Frère Luc offers an example of near mystical sentiment, the compositions by La Fosse and Noël Coypel at the turn of the century, demonstrate a calmer classicism with a strong Italian accent. Charles de La Fosse painted Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple for the Notre-Dame-du-Mont-Carmel chapel, which is now held in the Musée des Augustins.
Thirty years later, Saint Sebastian by Charles-Antoine Coypel, son of the former, displays all the grace of delicate and ethereal religious feeling. Jean
Restout the nephew and pupil of Jouvenet, was a veritable specialist in religious painting, although he also painted mythologies. His painting relies on the lively narration of a miracle of faith. It defines a serious and spectacular model for religious painting which served as the basis for all creation in this domain until the end of the century. The most famous example being Doyen's Miracle of the Fervent in the Église Saint-Roch in Paris.
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