Anne Labourdette, as a curator at the Department of Decorative Arts at the Louvre, is well placed to study the textiles of the Order of the Holy Spirit housed in the museum. Leaning on current research by specialists of the Order and of Renaissance Parisian embroidery, she draws back the veil on the knights serving the king, as well as the numerous and prestigious artistic commissions this entailed. The museum holds what is left of the Order’s Treasure: an exceedingly rare set of silverware, but also a collection of textiles dated from 1586 to 1830. Battered by history, torn in some places, over and often badly exposed, these embroidered textiles hold the key to understanding their production which the current restoration project is unlocking, at least in part. They, also, play a part in our growing knowledge of the Order of the Holy Spirit’s visual history.

Laurence Bertrand Dorléac

The Louvre Museum holds an impressive number of objects destined to be used during the ceremonies of the Order of the Holy Spirit (1578-1830), the most prestigious order of chivalry of the French monarchy. In particular, the textiles embroidered for the Order stand apart by their material quality and the techniques used to create them. A significant number of them are currently being restored, all while their presentation to the public is being rethought.

This research is indebted to previous works by specialists of the Order of the Holy Spirit, as well as Parisian embroidery in the Renaissance: the specific references are included in the bibliography.

Before presenting in detail the textiles of the Order, a brief reminder of the context of its creation as well as what was an order of chivalry in the XVI^th century seems necessary.

The foundation of the order (1578)

The “order and militia of the blessed Holy Spirit” was founded by Henry III^{rd 1} Born in 1551, murdered in 1589, king of Poland under the name of Henry (Henryk) Ist from 1573 to 1575 and king of France from 1574 to 1589. (fig. 1) on the 31^st of December 1578, at a time when royal power was being heavily challenged by both the catholic and protestant forces waging war since the beginning of the XVI^th century. Since the 1560’s, the conflict had become particularly violent and akin to a civil war, erupting with ever greater regularity all over the country. The apex of this antagonism, both religious and political, happened on the night of the 23^rd of August 1572 with St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre (fig. 2), when, until October of the same year, thousands of protestants and foreigners were killed all over France.

The massacre caused an unmendable rift between the king, Charles IX^{th 2} Born in 1550, king of France from 1560 until his death in 1574., and his subjects, both protestant and catholic, and helped weaken further royal authority ³ I. Haquet, L’énigme Henri III : ce que nous révèlent les images, Nanterre, Presses universitaires de Paris Ouest, 2014.. The later had been eroded, both by the ultra-Catholics, who had rallied around the Guise family and formed a League, and by foreign powers such as Spain. Furthermore, France was, at that time, faced with major economic and social difficulties (a series of harsh winters leading to a famine, outbreaks of the plague…), increasing anxiety amongst the population, especially regarding the future. When the ambitious duke of Anjou – who had, on the day of the Pentecost 1573, been elected king of Poland – acceded to the throne in 1574, under the name Henry III, he did so under difficult circumstances. Soon, the young king was faced with the need to federate the Catholics around his person, and, in order to do so, created a number of societies, the most important of which being the Order of the Holy Spirit.

A new order of chivalry

, there already existed in 1578 a French order of chivalry that centred around the king: the Order of Saint Michael, created by Louis XI on the 1^st of August 1469. Although it wasn’t the first French order of chivalry created around the person of king ⁴ The order of Our Lady of the Star, created in 1022 and refounded into the Order of the Star by John the Good in 1350, had nevertheless become obsolescent in the XVth century., it had become prestigious enough to be considered as the “king’s Order” in the XVI^th century. Nevertheless, faced with the many dissensions within his own side of the war, it had lost, at least to Henry III, the ability to congregate Catholics around his person. This was essential, as he felt it important to underline that only the king could embody both spiritual and temporal (i.e political) power over all of his subjects, especially in these troubled times.

         It may be difficult to comprehend, through today’s eyes, how the creation of a new order of chivalry answered this problem; and, as such, it must recontextualised to grasp its importance. From the XI^th to the XV^th centuries, a series of orders of chivalry were created, notably the Order of the Garter (created by Edward III of England on the 23^rd April 1348) and, especially prestigious, the Order of the Golden Fleece (created by Philip the Good, duke of Burgundy, on the 10^th of January 1430). They gathered around a monarch a variable number of knights, themselves often aristocrats, whose common trait was the oath of fealty sworn to the Grand Master and the consequential distinction from the average man that came with it.

How did the Order of the Holy Spirit work (1578-1830)?

Henry III was involved in devising the 95 articles that make up the Order, placed under the protection of the Holy Spirit. Both his election to the throne of Poland in 1572 and the death of his brother Charles IX in 1574 (allowing him to ascend to the throne of France) had happened on the Pentecost ⁵ A Christian holiday celebrated fifty days after Easter, commemorating the events described in the Act of the Apostles (2, 1-13), in which the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles and the Virgin as flames. During this, each could speak every language known to man and henceforth spread the word the Christ. The Pentecost had therefore largely been considered as the founding moment of the Christian church.: as such, he saw in the repetition of his being named king on such a holy day a sign that he was being called upon to end the wars then ravaging France ⁶I. Haquet, L’énigme Henri III : ce que nous révèlent les images, Nanterre, Presses universitaires de Paris Ouest, 2014, p. 94..

After his death, the Order continued to function according to the wishes of its founder, until the Revolution. Its members, never more than one hundred, were chosen by the king amongst aristocrats who had at least four degrees of nobility and who were already members of the Order of Saint Michael. Both catholic and French (although some foreigners were admitted in the Order from the XVII^th century onwards), they were made a knight of the Order of the Holy Spirit during a ceremony whose pomp continued in following centuries (fig. 3). A certain number of duties were expected of them (caritative work, prayers, regular attendance to mass or the systematic wearing of the cross of the order given by the king) ⁷ On the Order’s complex and impressive ceremonies, see M. L. Levkoff, ‘L’art cérémonial de l’Ordre du Saint-Esprit sous Henri III’, Bulletin de la Société de l’art français, 1987..

The seat of the Order, as chosen by Henry III, was the church of the convent of the Augustinians ⁸ It became the convent of the Grand Augustins in the XVIIth century., on the left bank of the Seine, right at the end of the Pont-Neuf, whose construction was precisely considered by the king to allow for the grand procession of the knights of the Order from the Louvre to the convent ⁹I. Hacquet, ‘Henri III (1574-1589) et Paris : une forme inédite de monumentalité urbaine’, La Monumentalité urbaine, p. 6. (the later can be surmised on the left of the painting by François Dubois, fig. 2). It was there that the all, with a few exceptions, of the ceremonies linked to the Order (knighthoods, feast of the Order, memorial masses…) took place, until Louis XIV decided to shift them to the chapel of the palace at Versailles.

The life of the Order, one of the most prestigious ones in Europe, was therefore intimately linked to that of the French monarchy. This explain its temporary disappearance between 1791 (when monarchical orders were banned) and 1815 (when it was re-established by Louis XVIII), as well as its slow fall into obsolescence from 1830, when the July monarchy was implemented. Nowadays, it is only used in a dynastic context.

The role of objects

The Order, created to gather the French social elite around the king, originated numerous sumptuous artistic commissions over centuries, in a range of fields (paintings, sculptures, prints and drawings, decorative arts). Part of the works made for the Order are now in the collections of the Louvre Museum. In particular, the department for Decorative Arts holds the treasure of the Order, made of twenty-two rare pieces of goldsmithery from the XIV^th, XV^th and XVI^th centuries, previously studied by Daniel Alcouffe and Michèle Bimbenet-Privat¹⁰D. Alcouffe, ‘À propos de l’orfèvrerie commandée par Henri III pour l’ordre du Saint-Esprit’, in Hommage à Hubert Landais, Paris, 1987 ; M. Bimbenet-Privat (ed.), Catalogue de l’Orfèvrerie française et européenne du Musée du Louvre, XVIe, XVIIe, XVIIIe siècles, Paris (to be published in 2022)., as well as an important set of textiles, the only one conserved in French public collection for that time period (1586-1830).

Made up of both the decoration of the old chapel of the Order and of a series of ceremonial vestments, the set has been almost completely shown to the public in the Richelieu wing of the museum since 1993 (fig. 4), until it was taken down in June 2020. Three mantles for officers, made around 1722, and twenty-one textile pieces from the chapel, embroidered around 1586 by the king’s embroiderer, Claude De Lucz, are currently being restored, before being exposed once more in the new rooms of department.

While they have often been restored over the centuries, the whole set is now in quite poor shape: the rich gold and silver embroideries decorating the background of the mantles are quite altered, with micro-tears and signs of use. The mantles, in particular, have suffered from their long display on unsuitable mannequins resulting in tensions from the weight of the heavy fabrics.

In order to implement the conservation project, the set was divided and entrusted to eighteen different conservators organised in four distinct clusters. The department of Decorative Arts was also able to rely on the scientific and technical help of the Centre de Recherche et de Restauration des Musées de France (C2RMF) and of the Laboratoire de Recherche des Monuments Historiques (LRMH). It was also helped by the convening of an advisory committee, made of specialists of the history of the Order of the Holy Spirit, as well as historians, curators and conservators of ancient textiles. The project started in January 2021 and will have to be finished in march 2023, for a total sum of 1 400 000 euros, excluding transport and insurance costs.

One of the main stakes of this restoration concerns the decoration of the old Chapel of the Order of Holy Spirit: specifically, understanding the models used by Claude de Lucz to embroider the figurative scenes on the antependium, the retable (The Pentecost, fig. 5), or the underside of the dais over the altar (The Holy Spirit surrounded by angels). It is clear that he made the Pentecost, a masterpiece of embroidered goldwork, after the drawing and indications of a talented painter, creating a scene enlivened by an impressive play on shadow and light. During the restoration process, it will be possible to further study this, by detaching the lining of the work and by analysing the traces left by the under-drawing beneath the embroidery. If these are well-preserved, this medallion will be situated in a clearer context of creation, and the archives will help guide the hand of the conservators, especially in terms of color. The techniques used to restore the flaws or to undo previous work will then be visible on the figures.

The main challenge of such a restoration will however be to think up a rolling exhibition program for these textiles in the rooms of the Decorative Arts department, which will foster the proper conservation of the works, while presenting to the public in a clear manner the context of their creation and the history of the Order of the Holy Spirit.

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[1] Born in 1551, murdered in 1589, king of Poland under the name of Henry (Henryk) I^st from 1573 to 1575 and king of France from 1574 to 1589.

[2] Born in 1550, king of France from 1560 until his death in 1574.

[3] I. Haquet, L’énigme Henri III : ce que nous révèlent les images, Nanterre, Presses universitaires de Paris Ouest, 2014.

[4] The order of Our Lady of the Star, created in 1022 and refounded into the Order of the Star by John the Good in 1350, had nevertheless become obsolescent in the XV^th century.

[5] A Christian holiday celebrated fifty days after Easter, commemorating the events described in the Act of the Apostles (2, 1-13), in which the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles and the Virgin as flames. During this, each could speak every language known to man and henceforth spread the word the Christ. The Pentecost had therefore largely been considered as the founding moment of the Christian church.

[6] I. Haquet, L’énigme Henri III : ce que nous révèlent les images, Nanterre, Presses universitaires de Paris Ouest, 2014, p. 94.

[7] On the Order’s complex and impressive ceremonies, see M. L. Levkoff, ‘L’art cérémonial de l’Ordre du Saint-Esprit sous Henri III’, Bulletin de la Société de l’art français, 1987.

[8] It became the convent of the Grand Augustins in the XVII^th century.

[9] I. Hacquet, ‘Henri III (1574-1589) et Paris : une forme inédite de monumentalité urbaine’, La Monumentalité urbaine, p. 6.

[10] D. Alcouffe, ‘À propos de l’orfèvrerie commandée par Henri III pour l’ordre du Saint-Esprit’, in Hommage à Hubert Landais, Paris, 1987 ; M. Bimbenet-Privat (ed.), Catalogue de l’Orfèvrerie française et européenne du Musée du Louvre, XVI^e, XVII^e, XVIII^e siècles, Paris (to be published in 2022).

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Bibliographie 

Alcouffe, D., ‘À propos de l’orfèvrerie commandée par Henri III pour l’ordre du Saint-Esprit’, in Hommage à Hubert Landais, Paris, 1987, pp. 135-142.

Alcouffe, D., ‘La chapelle de l’Ordre du Saint-Esprit’, Revue du Louvre et des musées de France, 1, 1994, pp. 29-42.

Bimbenet-Privat, M., (ed.), Catalogue de l’Orfèvrerie française et européenne du Musée du Louvre, XVI^e, XVII^e, XVIII^e siècles, Paris (to be published in 2022).

Bos, A., ‘Art et liturgie au temps d’Henri III, à propos d’un textile de la chapelle de l’ordre du Saint-Esprit’, Bulletin de la Société nationale des Antiquaires de France, 2011, pp. 87-100.

Castres, A., Brodeurs et chasubliers à Paris au XVI^e siècle, Ph.D. diss., Paris, École pratique des hautes études, 2016.

Haquet, I., ‘Henri III (1574-1589) et Paris : une forme inédite de monumentalité urbaine’, La Monumentalité urbaine, pp. 1-11.

Haquet, I., L’énigme Henri III : ce que nous révèlent les images, Nanterre, Presses universitaires de Paris Ouest, 2014.

 Leroux, N., Le Crépuscule de la chevalerie. Guerre et noblesse au siècle de la Renaissance, Ceyzérieu, Champ Vallon, 2015.

Levkoff, M. L., ‘L’art cérémonial de l’Ordre du Saint-Esprit sous Henri III’, Bulletin de la Société de l’art français, 1987, pp. 7-23.

Roumegou, L., ‘L’ordre du Saint-Esprit sous Louis XIV : un instrument au service du pouvoir (1643-1715)’, M. A diss., Paris, École des Chartes, 2017.

Spilliaert, P., Les Insignes de l’ordre du Saint-Esprit, Paris, Le Léopard d’or, 2016.

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Anne Labourdette is a curator of decorative arts at the Louvre since October 2019, specialising in textiles, furniture, stained glass and scientific objects of the Renaissance and the first half of the XVII^th century. A graduate of Sciences Po Paris (1998) and the Institut National du Patrimoine (2003), she was previously at the head of the museums of Vernon (2003-2006) and Douai (2007-2019).