Exhibition at the Louvre focuses on the connection between art and political power

The Petite Galerie exhibition for 2017–2018 focuses on the connection between art and political power. Governing entails selfpresentation as a way of affirming authority, legitimacy and prestige. Thus art in the hands of patrons becomes a propaganda tool; but it can also be a vehicle for protest and subverting the established order. Spanning the period from antiquity up to our own time, forty works from the Musée du Louvre, the Musée National du Château de Pau, the Château de Versailles and the Musée des Beaux-arts de la Ville de Paris illustrate the evolution of the codes behind the representation of political power. The exhibition is divided into four sections: “Princely Roles”: The first room presents the king’s functions— priest, builder, warrior/protector—as portrayed through different artistic media. Notable examples are Philippe de Champaigne’s Louis XIII, Léonard Limosin’s enamel Crucifixion Altarpiece, and t