Gaspare et Carlo Vigarani : de la cour d’Este à celle de Louis XIV

Gaspare e Carlo Vigarani : Dalla corte degli Este a quella di Luigi XIV - De la cour d’Este à celle de Louis XIV, (proceedings of the international symposium held on 6, 7, 9 and 10 June 2005 in Versailles and in Italy), directed by Jérôme de la Gorce and Walter Baricchi, joint publication Silvana Editoriale / Centre de recherche du château de Versailles (“Biblioteca d’arte” Collection), October 2009, 17 x 24 cm, 352 p., 94 black & white illustrations, 20 colour plates, index, bilingual edition in French/Italian, €28 (ISBN: 978-88-366-1278-9).

Abstract

Gaspare Vigarani and his son Carlo were two 17^th century artists, famous both in their native Italy and in France, during the most dazzling period of Louis XIV’s reign. They are an outstanding example of creative continuity in Europe in the field of entertainments and festivities, while at the same time making a significant contribution to one of the most prestigious chapters in the cultural history of this continent. Since the reign of Louis XIV, the name of Vigarani has tended to be forgotten. In Italy, the few monuments that remain are rarely visited, and in France, the famous Salles des Machines in the Tuileries Palace is no longer there as an example of the splendours of the Ancien Régime. In spite of the fact that so much has been destroyed, valuable evidence survived - plans and other graphic works, contemporary archives and publications, some of them very rare - and was worthy of study. This book was produced from contributions to an international symposium held in Reggio Emilia in Italy and in Versailles in France in June 2005. It tackles, in turn, the surviving secular and religious buildings (Villa Clotilde in Fiorano, churches in Modena and Reggio), the scenography and machinery used for entertainments, theatre architecture and the festive held in Versailles and beyond the Alps. Without claiming to have exhausted such a vast subject, the studies collected here fill a gap in the exciting research into Franco-Italian artistic relationships in the 17^th century.