From 1824 to the end of the Restoration, the department of the Fine
Arts, connected with the ministry of the King's household, was confided
to the Viscount Sosthenes de la Rochefoucauld, son of the Duke de
Doudeauville. He was then at the head of the museums, the royal
manufactures, the Conservatory and the five royal theatres,--the Opera,
the Francois, the Odeon, the Opera-Comique, and the Italiens.
From the point of view of arts and letters the reign of Charles X. was
illustrious. The King encouraged, protected, pensioned the greater
number of the great writers and artists who honored France. What is
sometimes called in literature the generation of 1830 would be more
exactly described as the generation of the Restoration. This regime can
claim the glory of Lamartine, as poet. A body-guard of Louis XVIII., he
was the singer of royalty. He published, in 1820, the first volume of
his Meditations Poetiques, in 1823 the second, and in 1829 the
Harmonies. His literary success opened to him the doors of diplomacy.
He was successively attache of the Legation at Florence, Secretary of
Embassy at Naples and at London, Charge d'Affaires in Tuscany. When the
Revolution of 1830 broke out, he had just been named Minister
Plenipotentiary to Greece.
Victor Hugo published his Odes et Ballades from 1822 to 1828. "La
Vendee," "Les Vierges de Verdun," "Quiberon," "Louis XVII," "Le
Retablissement de la Statue de Henri IV.," "La Mort du due de Berry,"
"La Naissance du duc de Bordeaux," "Les Funerailles de Louis XVIII.,"
"Le Sacre de Charles X.," are true royalist songs. Alexandre Dumas,
FILS, in receiving M. Leconte de Lisle at the French Academy, recalled
"the light of that little lamp, seen burning every night in the mansard
of the Rue Dragon, at the window of the boy poet, poor, solitary,
indefatigable, enamoured of the ideal, hungry for glory, of that little
lamp, the silent and friendly confidant of his first works and his
first hopes so miraculously realized." Who knows? without the support
of the government of the Restoration the light of that little lamp
might less easily have developed into the resplendent star that the
author of La Dame aux Camelias indicated in the firmament.
The author of Meditations Poetiques and the author of the Odes et
Ballades were sincere in the expression of their political and
religious enthusiasm. These two lyric apostles of the throne and the
altar, these two bards of the coronation, obeyed the double inspiration
of their imagination and their conscience. Party spirit should not be
too severe for a regime that suggested such admirable verses to the two
greatest French poets of the nineteenth century--to Lamartine and to
Victor Hugo.
Let us recall also that in Victor Hugo it was not only the royalist
poet that Charles X. protected, it was also the chief of the romantic
school; for the government, despite all the efforts of the classicists,
caused Hernani to be represented at the Francais, a subsidized theatre.
When the Academy pressed its complaint to the very throne to prevent
the acceptance of the play, the King replied wittily that he claimed no
right in the matter beyond his place in the parterre. The first
representation of Hernani took place the 25th of February, 1830, and
the author, decorated, pensioned, encouraged by Charles X., did not
lose the royal favor, when, on the 9th of March following, he wrote in
the preface of his work: "Romanticism, so often ill-defined, is
nothing, taking it all in all--and this is its true definition, if only
its militant side be regarded--but liberalism in literature. The
principle of literary liberty, already understood by the thinking and
reading world, is not less completely adopted by that immense crowd,
eager for the pure emotions of art, that throngs the theatres of Paris
every night. That lofty and puissant voice of the people, which is like
that of God, writes that poetry henceforth shall have the same matter
as politics! Toleration and liberty!"
The first representation of a work that was a great step forward for
the romantic school, Henri III et sa Cour, by Alexandre Dumas, had
already taken place at the Francais, February 11, 1829. The 30th of
March, 1830, the Odeon gave Christine de Suede, by the same author.
In 1829, Alfred de Vigny had represented at the Francais his
translation in verse of Othello. It was from 1824 to 1826 that the poet
published his principal poems. It was in 1826 that his romance of
Cinq-Mars appeared. Victor Hugo published Les Orientates in 1829;
Alfred de Musset, Les Contes d'Espagne et d'Italie in 1830. It may be
said then that before the Revolution of 1830, romanticism had reached
its complete expansion.
Note, also, that the government of Charles X. always respected the
independence of writers and artists, and never asked for eulogies in
exchange for the pensions and encouragement it accorded them with
generous delicacy. It named Michelet Maitre de Conferences at the Ecole
Normale in 1826. It pensioned Casimir Delavigne, so well known for his
liberal opinions, and Augustin Thierry, a writer of the Opposition,
when that great historian, having lost his eyesight, was without
resources. It ordered of Horace Vernet the portraits of the King, the
Duke of Berry, and the Duke of Angouleme, as well as a picture
representing a "Review by Charles X. at the Champ-de-Mars," and named
the painter of the battles of the Revolution and the Empire director of
the School of Rome.
From the point of view of painting as well as of letters, the
Eestoration was a grand epoch. Official encouragement was not wanting
to the painters. Gros and Gerard received the title of Baron. There may
be seen to-day in one of the new halls of the French School at the
Louvre, the pretty picture by Heim, which represents Charles X.
distributing the prizes for the Exposition of 1824, where Le Vaeu de
Louis XIII. by Ingres had figured, and where the talent of Paul
Delaroche had been disclosed. In the Salon Carre of the Louvre, the
King, in the uniform of general-in-chief of the National Guards, blue
coat with plaits of silver, with the cordon of the Saint Esprit, and in
high boots, himself hands the cross of the Legion of Honor to the
decorated artists, among whom is seen Heim, the author of the picture.
Ingres, chief of the Classic School, and Delacroix, chief of the
Romantic School, shone at the same time. In 1827, the first submitted
to general admiration l'Apotheose d'Homere and Le Martyre de Saint
Symphorien. The same year Delacroix, who had already given in 1824 Le
Massacre de Scio, in 1826 La Mort du Doge Mariano Faliero, exhibited LE
Christ au Jardin des Oliviers, acquired for the Church of Saint Paul;
Justinien,--for the Council of State; and La Mort de Sardanapale.
When the Musee Charles X. (the Egyptian Museum) was opened at the
Louvre, the government ordered the frescoes and ceilings from Gros,
Gerard, Ingres, Schnetz, Abel de Pujol. M. Jules Mareschal says:--
"The right-royal munificence of Charles X. was not marked by
niggardliness in the appreciation of works of art any more than in the
appreciation of the works of science and letters. But, as is known, it
is not by interest alone that the heart of the artist is gained and his
zeal stimulated. They are far more sensitive to the esteem shown them,
to the respect with which their art is surrounded, and to the taste
manifested in the judgment of their productions. Now, who more than
Louis XVIII. and Charles X. possessed the secret of awakening lively
sympathy in the world of artists and men of letters? Who better than
their worthy counsellor seconded them in the impulses of generous
courtesy so common with them? Thus from this noble and gracious manner
of treating men devoted to art and letters, which marked the royal
administration of the Fine Arts under the Restoration, sprang an
emulation and a good will which on all sides gave an impetus to genius,
and brought forth the new talents."
In theatrical matters, the Viscount Sosthenes de La Rochefoucauld
exercised a salutary influence. He loved artists, and wishing to raise
their situation, moral and social, he deplored the excommunication that
had been laid on the players.
Speaking of the stage, he wrote in a report addressed to Charles X.,
June 20,1825: "I perceive that I have forgotten the most essential
side,--the moral, I will even say the religious side. What glory it
would be for a king to raise this considerable class of society from
the abject situation in which it is compelled to live! Sacrificed to
our pleasures, it has been condemned to eternal death, and a king
believes his conscience quiet! For a long time I have cherished this
thought; we must begin by elevating these people, as regards their art,
by reforming, little by little, the swarming abuses that awaken horror,
and end by treating with Rome in order to obtain some just concessions
that would have important results."
In another report to the King, dated October 21, 1826, M. de La
Rochefoucauld wrote, apropos of the obsequies of Talma:--
"A profound regret for me is the manner of the great tragedian's death.
Sire, would it not be worthy of the reign, the breast, the conscience
of Charles X., to draw this class of artists from the cruel position in
which they are left by that excommunication that weighs upon them
without distinction? Whether they conduct themselves well or ill, the
Church repels them; this reprobation holds them perforce in the sphere
of evil and disorder, since they have no interest in rising above it.
Honor them, and they will honor themselves. It is time to undertake the
reform of what I call a pernicious prejudice. The clergy itself is not
far from agreeing on these ideas."
In his relations with authors, artists, directors of theatres, the
Viscount was courtesy itself. We read in one of his reports (June 17,
1825):--
"Rossini is the first composer of Europe; I have succeeded in
attracting him to the service of France; he had before been tempted in
vain. Jealous of his success, people have cried out that he was an
idler, that he would do nothing. I secured him by the methods and in
the interest of the King; I can do with him as I will, as with all the
artists, though they are most difficult people. They must be taken
through the heart. Rossini has just composed a really ravishing piece;
and, touched by the manner in which he is treated, he wishes to present
it to the King in token of his gratitude, and wishes to receive
nothing. He is right, but the King cannot accept gratis so fine a
present; I propose that the King grant him the cross of the Legion of
Honor and announce it himself to him to-morrow--which would be an act
full of grace. All favors must come always from the King."
Great tenacity was needed in the government of Charles X. to get the
Chefs-d'Oeuvre of Rossini represented at the Opera. A little school of
petty and backward ideas rushed, under pretext of patriotism, but
really from jealousy, systematically to drive from the stage everything
not French. For this coterie Rossini and Meyerbeer were suspects,
intruders, who must be repulsed at any cost. The government had the
good sense to take no account of this ridiculous opposition, which
refused to recognize that art should be cosmopolitan. Before seeing his
name on the bills of our first lyric stage, Rossini required no less
than nine years of patience. All Europe applauded him, but at Paris he
had to face the fire of pamphleteers rendered furious by his fame. The
government finally forced the Opera to mount Le Siege de Corinthe. Its
success was so striking that the evening of the first representation
(October 9, 1826), the public made almost a riot for half an hour,
because Rossini, called loudly by an enthusiastic crowd, refused to
appear upon the stage.
The maestro gave at the Opera Moise, March 26, 1826; Le Comte Ory,
August 20, 1828; Guillaume Tell, August 20, 1829. (At this time the
first representations of the most important works took place in
midsummer.) The evening of the first night of Guillaume Tell, the
orchestra went, after the opera, to give a serenade under the windows
of the composer, who occupied the house on the Boulevard Montmartre,
through which the Passage Jouffroy has since been cut. The 10th of
February, 1868, on the occasion of the hundredth representation of the
same work, there was a repetition of the serenade of 1829. The master
then lived in the Rue Chaussee d'Antin, No. 2. Under his windows the
orchestra and chorus of the opera commenced the concert about half an
hour after midnight, by the light of torches, and Faure sang the solos.
The government which secured the representation of Guillaume Tell was
not afraid of the words "independence" and "liberty." A year and a half
before, the 20th of February, 1828, there had been given at the Opera
the chef-d'oeuvre of Auber, La Muette de Portici, and the Duchess of
Berry, a Neapolitan princess, had applauded the Naples Revolution put
into music.
The government of Charles X. protected Meyerbeer as well as Rossini.
Robert le Diable was only played under the reign of Louis Philippe, but
the work had already been received under the Restoration.
During the reign of Charles X. the fine royal theatres reached the
height of their splendor: the Francais and the Odeon were installed in
their present quarters; the Opera in the hall of the Rue La Peletier,
excellent as to acoustics and proportions; the Italiens in the Salle
Favart (where they remained from 1825 to 1838); the Opera Comique in
the Salle Feydeau, until the month of April, 1829, when it inaugurated
the Salle Ventadour. Talma, Mademoiselle Duchesnoir, Mademoiselle Mars,
triumphed at the Francais; Mademoiselle Georges, at the Odeon; Nourrit,
Levasseur, Madame Damoreau, Taglioni, at the Opera; Sontag, Pasta,
Malibran, and Rubini at the Italiens.
The Viscount de la Rochefoucauld wished in every way to raise the moral
level of the theatre. He forbade subscribers, even the most
influential, the entree behind the scenes of the Opera, because these
persons had not always preserved there the desirable decorum. Thence
arose rancor and spite, against which he had to contend during his
entire administration. He wrote to the King, July 29, 1828:--
"A cabal is formed to deprive me of the direction of the theatres; and
by whom and for what? It is a struggle, Sire, between good and evil. It
is sought to maintain, at any cost, the abuses I have dared to reform.
They throw a thousand unjust obstacles in my way. Gamblers are mixed up
in it too; they wish to join this ignoble industry and the theatres. It
is a monstrous infamy. The opera must be reached at all hazards, the
coulisses must be entered; these are the abuses that must be revived.
How can it be done? By removing the theatres from troublesome authority
... Sire, Your Majesty shall decide, and must defend me with a firm
will in the interest, I venture to declare, of order; you must defend
yourself also in the interest of morals and of art, and of a great
influence of which it is sought to deprive you."
M. de La Rochefoucauld had the last word, and remained at the head of
the direction of the Fine Arts until the close of the Restoration. To
the credit of his administration there must still be added the creation
of the school of religious music, directed by Choron, and the
foundation of the concerts of the conservatory with Habeneck, and a
little against the wishes of Cherubini. The chefs-d'oeuvre of German
music were brought out as well as those of Italian music. The Viscount
performed his task con amore, as they say on the other side of the
Alps. He wrote to Charles X. January 12, 1830:--
"How many reflections must have come to the King on regarding the
picture of the Coronation! I divined the thought that he did not
complete, and my eyes filled with tears. Oh, how much I feel and
imagine all the ennui given to the King by these barren and unfortunate
politics! I detest them more even than the King detests them.
Ungrateful offspring of the times, they fly away, rarely leaving even a
memory. How much I prefer the arts!"
This was also the feeling of the Duchess of Berry, who, during all the
Restoration, fled from surly politics to live in the region, radiant
and sacred, of art and charity. The taste of this Italian lady for
painting and music was a veritable passion. She was forever to be found
in the museums, the expositions, the theatres. She caught the melodies
by heart and was always interested in new works. An expert, a
dilletante, was no better judge of pictures and operas; the great
artists who shone in the reign of Charles X. received from the amiable
Princess the most precious encouragements. Nor did she forget to
encourage the efforts of beginners. "Who, then," she said, "would buy
the works of these poor young people, if I did not?"