Academic literature on the topic 'France – 1774-1792 (Louis XVI)'

This article re-examines a crucial aspect of French history between 1789 and 1793, and one which remains controversial : the attitude of Louis XVI towards the Revolution. It does this by exploiting an important and unpublished source, the letters of the king's secret plenipotentiary to the European powers, the baron de Breteuil, to the foreign monarch most trusted by the French royal family, Gustavus III of Sweden. Since Louis XVI's precarious position in Paris from the October Days until his death prevented him from expressing his true feelings except very rarely, historians since have found it difficult to reach firm conclusions on his political views and motivation during the Revolution, and the result has often been partisan judgements from left and right. The issue has been further clouded by persistent claims for over a century that several of Louis's most important letters of this period are forgeries. While they do not resolve all these problems, the letters of Breteuil to Gustavus III, which are incontestably genuine, reveal Louis XVI's views on critical events between 1791 and 1792 as represented by the politician closest to his real policy, to the fellow-ruler in whom he had the most faith. The most important subjects covered are Breteuil's interpretation of Louis XVI's true attitude to the constitution of September 1791, his distrust of his brothers, the comtes de Provence and d'Artois, and the plan for an armed congress of the European powers to put pressure on revolutionary France. These letters, and Gustavus III's replies to them, are published at the end of the article in an appendix.

In April 1793, France was waging war both inside and outside its borders. Over the previous year, the French government had taken up arms against Austria, Sardinia, Prussia, Great Britain, Holland and Spain. In its first seizure of new territory since the Revolution began in 1789, it had recently annexed the previously Austrian region we now call Belgium. Revolutionaries had dissolved the French monarchy in September 1792, then guillotined former king Louis XVI in January 1793. If France spawned violence in victory, it redoubled domestic bloodshed in defeat; a major French loss to Austrian forces at Neerwinden on 18 March 1793, followed by the defection of General Dumouriez, precipitated both a call for expanded military recruitment and a great struggle for control of the revolutionary state. April saw the formation of the Committee of Public Safety, fearsome instrument of organizational combat. France's domestic battle was to culminate in a Jacobin seizure of power.

Des Grasset de Saint-Sauveur, on connaît surtout André (1758-1792), martyr de la Révolution française, béatifié en 1926 et dont un collège porte aujourd'hui le nom. Cet article concerne plutôt son frère aîné, personnage à l'antipode: Jacques Grasset de Saint-Sauveur (1757-1810). Successivement diplomate, polygraphe, illustrateur et graveur, il fut aussi aventurier et quelque peu mystificateur. Montréalais de naissance, Jacques Grasset de Saint-Sauveur a connu sa petite gloire littéraire sous la Révolution et le premier Empire. Il publia un nombre considérable d'encyclopédies de voyages et de costumes, de compilations et de récits libertins, mais aussi d'ouvrages de morale d'inspiration philosophique ou républicaine. II nous intéresse du triple point de vue de l'histoire politique et diplomatique du Canada et de la France, de l'histoire littéraire et de l'histoire de l'art. Pour cerner la personnalité de l'individu, on analyse ici une lettre qu'il adressa en mars 1785 à de Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes, ministre des Affaires étrangères de France. Cette correspondance contient l'autoportrait de l'aventurier à la recherche d'un mécène, avec toutes les marques d'un jeune caractère déjà bien tranché : esprit d'initiative, audace frisant la présomption, détermination, sens politique et curieux mélange de réalisme et d'extravagance dans la vision du monde. En germe dans ce pli que Jacques Grasset de Saint-Sauveur rédige à 27 ans, se lit déjà toute la carrière de celui qui, sous le Directoire, trouvera plus prudent de perdre la particule et de signer « citoyen Saint-Sauveur », avant de s'acoquiner avec les plus ardents républicains de l'époque. À côté d'André, son père, ancien secrétaire de la Nouvelle-France, devenu consul sous Louis XVI, à côté de son frère cadet, lui-même consul et de l'autre frère, prêtre réfractaire fauché par la Terreur, Jacques Grasset fait tache. C'est cette tache qu'on examine ici à partir d'une simple lettre, avant de revenir, dans une prochaine livraison, sur la bibliographie du mouton noir des Grasset de Saint-Sauveur.

AbstractAs was the case with silversmiths (Note 3), many more cabinet-makers were wcrking in Amsterdam during the second half of the 18th century than in any other city in the Dutch Republic, the names of 195 of them being now known as opposed to 57 in The Hague and 32 in Rotterdam (Note 2). Most of those 195 names have been culled from the few surviving documents of the Guild of St. Joseph in Amsterdam, to which the cabinet-makers belonged (Note 4), supplemented by other sources, such as printed registers of craftsmen and shopkeepers (Note 6). Another important source is the newspaper the Amsterdamsche Courant with its advertisements placed by craftsmen themselves, with notices of sales, bankruptcies, lotteries and annual fairs and with advertisements concerning subsidiary or related trades. Since these advertisements were directed at the consumer, they often contain stylistic descriptions such as are not found elsewhere. Moreover, they aford valuable clues to archival material. Hence an investigation of all the advertisements from the years 1751-1800 has formed the basis for a study of Amsterdam cabinet-making, some results of which are presented here. Such a study is doomed largely to remain theoretical. The records can hardly ever be linked with surviving pieces, as these are virtually always anonymous since Amsterdam cabinet-makers were not required to stamp or sign their work. Moreover, only a few pieces of Dutch 18th-century furniture have a known provenance, so that it is only rarely possible to link a piece with a bill or another document and identify its maker. Thus it is not yet possible to form a reliable picture of a local Amsterdam style, let alone embark on attributions to individual makers (Note 8). In this light special importance may be attached to two commodes of the third quarter of the century which are exceptional in that they bear a signature, that of Andries Bongen (Figs. 1, 2, Notes 10, 11). These commodes, being entirely French-inspired, illustrate a specific and little-known aspect of Amsterdam cabinet-making. French furniture was so sought after in Amsterdam at that period that in 1771 a strict ban was imposed on its importation in order to protect local cabinet-makers (Note 12). It had begun to be imitated even before that and the commodes by Bongen exemplify this development. Andries Bongen, who was probably born in Geldern, south of Cleves and just east of the border of the Dutch Republic, is first recorded in Amsterdam in May 1763 on his marriage to Willemina, daughter of the smith Lambert van der Beek. He registered as a citizen on 5 July 1763 and became a master cabinet-maker some time between March 1763 and March 1764 (Note 19), so that, accordirtg to the Guild regulations, he must previously have trained for two years under an Amsterdam master (Note 20). At the time of his marriage he was living in St. Jorisstraat, but by the end of 1766 he had moved to Spui and between 1769 and 1771 he moved again, to Muiderpleinlje. When he and his wife made their will in 1772, their possessions were worth something under 8000 guilders (Note 23). This suggests that the business was quite flourishing, which seems to be confirmed by the fact that Bongen received a commission from the city of Amsterdam in 1771. Two more pieces were made for the city in 1786 and 1789, but in the latter year Bongen was declared bankrupt. The inventory of his possessions drawn up then (see Appeytdix) shows how parlous his conditions had become, his goods being valued at only 300 guilders. The reference to a shop indicates that Bongen sold his own furniture, although he had no stock to speak of at that point. The mention of eight work-benches, however, sugests that his output had previously been quite large. This is confirmed by the extent of his debts, notably that to the timber merchant Jan van Mekeren (Note 27). Other creditors included 'Rudolfeus Eyk', who probably supplied iron trelliszvork for bookcases and the like (Note 28), and the glass merchants Boswel en Zonen (Note 29) No debtors are listed and the only customer who can tentatively be identified is a 'Heer Hasselaar' who might be Pieter Cornelis Hasselaer (1720-95), several times burgomaster of Amsterdam between 1773 and 1794 (Note 30). Bongen died three years after his bankruptcy, at which time he was living in Nieuwe Looiersstraat. He appears to have continued working as a cabiytet-maker up to his death and his widow probably carried on the business until her own death in 1808, but nothing is known of this later period. The clearest insight into the character of part of Bongen's output is aforded by the advertisement he placed in the Amsterdamsehe Courant of 4 December 1766, describing three pieces of furniture 'in the French manner'. This is the first announcement by an 18th-century Amsterdam cabinet-maker of work in the French style. Bongen mentions two commodes decorated with floral marquetry, a technique which had flourished in Amsterdam in the late 17th and early 18th centuries (Note 34), but which had largely fallen into disuse on the advent around 1715 of a more sober type of furniture with plain walnut veneers on the English model (Note 36). In France a form of floral marquetry reappeared in the 1740s, being further developed in the following decade under the influence of Jean-François Oeben (1721-63). From the late 1750s there are indications of the presence of pieces of French marquetry furniture in the new style in Amsterdam (Notes 42, 43). The earliest explicit description of floral marquetry appears in a sale catalogue of 5 June 1765 (Note 44), while in another of 25 March 1766 (Note 46) many French pieces are detailed. Obviously, then, Bongen was endeavouring to capture a share, of this new market. The reappearance of elaborate marquetry on Amsterdam-made furniture was the result of a desire to emulate the French examples. The two commodes described in Bongen's advertisement can be identified with the one now in Amsterdam (Fig.2) and the one sold in London in 1947 (Fig.1). The latter still had more of its original mounts at the time nf the sale (Fig. 4) and the two probably formed a pair originally. The unusual fact that they are signed indicates that Bongen intended them to serve as show-pieces to demonstrate his skill at the beginning of his career (cf. Note 51, for another craftsman from abroad who began his career in Amsterdam by similarly advertising a spectacular piece). The commode in Amsterdam, with all its original mounts, demonstrates most clearly how close Bongen came to French prototypes, although his work has many personal traits nonetheless. In the marquetry the vase on a plinth on the front and the composition of the bouquets on the sides are notable (Fig.5), as are the large, full-blown blooms. The carcase, made entirely of oak, is remarkably well constructed and has a heavy, solid character. The commodes are outstanding for the complete integration of the marquetry and the mounts, in the manner of the finesl French furniture. The mounts presenl a problem, as it is not clear where they were made. They do not appear to be French or English, but one hesitates to attribute them to Amsterdam, as it is clear from documentary material that ornamental furniture-mounts were hardly ever made there in the second half of the 18th century. The mounts advertised by Ernst Meyrink in 1752 (Note 53) were probably still of the plain variety of the early part of the century and there is no further mention of mounts made in Amsterdam in the Amsterdamsche Courant. Once, in 1768, the silversmith J. H. Strixner placed an advertisement which refers to their gilding (Note 55). There is virtually no indication either of French mounts being imported and there is little Dutch furniture of this period that bears mounts which are indisputably French. In contrast to this, a large number of advertisements from as early as 1735 show that many mounts were imported from England, while among English manufacturers who came to sell their wares in Amsterdam were Robert Marshall of London (Note 60), James Scott (Note 61), William Tottie of Rotterdam (Note 62), whose business was continued after his death by Klaas Pieter Sent (Note 64), and H. Jelloly, again of Rotterdam (Notes 66, 67). It seems surprising that in a period when the French style reigned supreme so many mounts were imported from England, but the English manufacturers, mainly working in Birmingham, produced many mounts in the French style, probably often directed expressly at foreign markets. On the two commodes by Bongen only the corner mounts and the handles are of types found in the trade-catalogues of the English manufacturers (Figs. 7, 8, Notes 65, 70). The corner mounts are of a common type also found on French furniture (Note 71), so they doubtless copy a French model. The remaining mounts, however, are the ones which are so well integrated with the marquetry and these are not found elsewhere. Recently a third commode signed by Bongen has come to light, of similar character to the first two (Fig.3). Here all the mounts are of types found in the catalogues (Figs.7-10, Note 72). Apparently Bongen could not, or did not choose to, obtain the special mounts any more, although he clearly wanted to follow the same design (Fig. 6). This third commode was undoubtedly made somewhal later than the other two. The marquetry on it is the best preserved and it is possible to see how Bongen enlivened it with fine engraving. Because this piece is less exceptional, it also allows us to attribute some unsigned pieces to Bongen on the basis of their closeness to it, namely a commode sold in London in 1962 (Fig.11, Note 73) and two smaller, simpler commodes, which may originally have formed a pair, one sold in London in 1967 (Fig.12, Nole 74) and the other in a Dutch private collection (Figs.13, 14). The first one has a highly original marquetry decoration of a basket of flowers falling down. On the sides of this piece, and on the front of the two smaller ones, are bouquets tied with ribbons. These were doubtless influenced by contemporary engravings, but no direct models have been identified. The construction of the commode in the Netherlands tallies completely with tltat of the signed example in Amsterdam. The mounts are probably all English, although they have not all been found in English catalogues (Fig.15, Note 76). A seventh commode attributable to Bongen was sold in Switzerland in 1956 (Fig.16, Note 77). It is unusual in that walnut is employed as the background for the floral marquetry, something virtually unknown in Paris, but not uncommon on German work of French inspiration (Note 78). That commodes constitute the largest group among the furniture in the French style attributable to Bongen should cause no surprise, for the commode was the most sought after of all the pieces produced by the ébénistes not only in France, but all over Europe. Two other pieces which reveal Bongen's hand are two tables which look like side-tables, but which have fold-out tops to transform them into card-tables, a type seldom found in France, but common in England and the Netherlands (Note 80). One is at Bowhill in Scotland (Figs.17, 19, 20), the other was sold in London in 1972 (Fig.18, Note 79). The corner mounts on the Bowhill table, which probably also graced the other one originally, are the same as those on the two small commodes, while the handles are again to be found in an English catalogue (Fig.21, Note 81). What sounds like a similar card-table was sold at auction in Amsterdam in 1772 (Note 82). In Bongen's advertisement of 1766 mention is also made of a secretaire, this being the first appearance of this term in the Amsterdamsche Courant and Bongen finding it necessary to define it. No secretaire is known that can be attributed to him. A medal-cabinet in the form of a secretaire in Leiden (Figs.22, 23) hasfloral marquetry somewhat reminiscent of his work, but lacking its elegance, liveliness and equilibrium. Here the floral marquetry is combined with trompe l'oeil cubes and an interlaced border, early Neo-Classical elements which were first employed in France in the 1750s, so that this piece represents a later stage than those attributable to Bongen, which are all in a pure Louis xvstyle. Virtually identical in form to the medal-cabinet is a secretaire decorated solely with floral marquetry (Fig. 24, Note 87). This also appears not to be by Bongen, but both pieces may have been made under his influence. The picture we can form of Bongen's work on the basis of the signed commodes is clearly incomplete. His secretaire was decorated with '4 Children representing Trade', an exceptionally modern and original idea in 1766 even by French standards (Note 88). His ambitions in marquetry obviously wentfar beyondflowers, but no piece has yet beenfound which evinces this, nor is anything known of the Neo-Classical work which he may have produced after this style was introduced in Amsterdam around 1770. Bongen may perhaps have been the first Amsterdam cabinet-maker to produce marquetry furniture in the French style, but he was not to remain the only one. In 1771 and 1772 furniture in both the Dutch and French mode was advertised for sale at the Kistenmakerspand in Kalverstraat, where all furniture-makers belonging to the Guild of St. Joseph could sell their wares (Note 89). The 'French' pieces were probably decorated with marquetry. Only a small number of cabinet-makers are known to have worked in this style, however. They include Arnoldus Gerritsen of Rheestraat, who became a master in 1769 and sold his stock, including a 'small French inlaid Commode', in 1772, and Johan Jobst Swenebart (c.1747 - active up to 1806 or later), who became a master in 1774 and advertised in 1775 that he made 'all sorts of choice Cabinet- and Flower-works', the last term referring to furniture decorated with floral marquetry. Not only French types of furniture, but also traditional Dutch pieces were now decorated with French-inspired marquetry,for example a collector's cabinet advertised in 1775 by Johan Jacob Breytspraak (c.1739-95), who had become a master in 1769-70; a bureau-bookcase, a form introduced in the first half of the century probably under English influence (Note 100), exhibited in 1772 (Note 99); and a display cabinet for porcelain supplied, though not necessarily made, by Pieter Uylenburg en Zoon in 1775 (Notes 101, 102). Even long-case clocks were enriched with marquetry, witness the one advertised by the clock-maker J. H. Kühn in 1775 and another by him which was sold by auction in Edam in 1777 (Note 104). The latter was, like the bureau-bookcase exhibited in 1772, decorated with musical instruments, again a motif borrowed from France, where it was used increasingly from the 1760s onwards (Note 105). A clock signed by the Amsterdam clock-maker J. George Grüning also has a case with marquetry of musical instruments. This must date from about 1775-80, but its maker is unknown (Fig. 25, Notes 106, 107). All four of the Amsterdam cabinet-makers known to have done marquetry around 1770 came from Germany and all were then only recently established in Amsterdam. In fact half of the 144 Amsterdam cabinet-makers working in the second half of the 18th century whose origins it has been possible to trace came from Germany, so the German element was even stronger there than in Paris, where Germans comprised about a third of the ébénistes (Note 108) and where they had again played an important role in the revival of marquetry. None qf the four in Amsterdam was exclusively concerned with marquetry. Indeed, for some of them it may only have been a secondary aspect of their work. This was not true of Bongen, but he too made plain pieces, witness the four mahogany gueridons he made for the city of Amsterdam in 1771 or the two cupboards also made for the city in 1786 and 1789 (Notes 111, 112).No marquetry is listed in his inventory either. Perhaps fashions had changed by the time of his bankruptcy. Such scant knowledge as we have of Amsterdam cabinet-making between 1775 and 1785 certainly seems to suggest this. In the descriptions of the prizes for furraiture-lotteries, such as took place regularly from 1773 onwards (Note 114), marquetry is mentioned in 1773 and 1775 (Notes 115, 116), but after that there is no reference to itfor about tenyears. Nor is there any mention of marquetry in the very few cabinet-makers' advertisements of this period. When the clock-maker Kühn again advertised long-case clocks in 1777 and 1785, the cases were of carved mahogany (Notes 121, 122). Certainly in France the popularity of marquetry began to wane shortly before 1780 and developments in the Netherlands were probably influenced by this. Towards the end of the 1780s, however, pieces described as French and others decorated with 'inlaid work' again appear as prizes in lotteries, such as those organized by Johan Frederik Reinbregt (active 1785-95 or later), who came from Hanover (Note 128), and Swenebart. The latter advertised an inlaid mahogany secretaire in 1793 (Note 132) and similar pieces are listed in the announcement of the sale of the stock of Jean-Matthijs Chaisneux (c.1734-92), one of a small group of French upholsterers first mentioned in Amsterdam in the 1760s, who played an important part in the spread of French influence there (Note 134). In this later period, however, reference is only made to French furniture when English pieces are also mentioned, so a new juxtaposition is implied and 'French' need not mean richly decorated with marquetry as it did in the 1760s. In fact the marquetry of this period was probably of a much more modest character. A large number of pieces of Dutch furniture in the late Neo-Classical style are known, generally veneered with rosewood or mahogany, where the marquetry is confined to trophies, medallions on ribbons, geometric borders and suchlike. A sideboard in the Rijksmuseum is an exceptionally fine and elaborately decorated example of this light and elegant style (Fig. 26) None of this furniture is known for certain to have been made in Amsterdam, but two tobacco boxes with restrained marquetry decoration (Fig.27, Note 136) were made in Haarlem in 1789 by Johan Gottfried Fremming (c.1753-1832) of Leipzig, who had probably trained in Amsterdam and whose style will not have differed much from that current in the capital. Boxes of this type are mentioned in the 1789 inventory of the Amsterdam cabinet-maker Johan Christiaan Molle (c.1748-89) as the only pieces decorated with inlay (Note 138). In the 1792 inventory of Jacob Keesinger (active 1764-92) from Ziegenhain there are larger pieces of marquetry furniture as well (Note 139), but they are greatly in the minority, as is also the case with a sale of cabinet-makers' wares held in 1794 (Note 141), which included a book-case of the type in Fig.28 (Note 142). Similarly the 1795 inventory of Johan Jacob Breytspraak, one of the most important and prosperous cabinet-makers of the day, contains only a few marquetry pieces (Note 144). The 1793 inventory of Hendrik Melters (1720-93) lists tools and patterns for marquetry, but no pieces decorated with it (Note 145). Melters seems to have specialized in cases for long-case clocks, the Amsterdam clock-maker Rutgerus van Meurs (1738-1800) being one of his clients (Note 146). The cases of clocks signed by Van Meurs bear only simple marquetry motifs (Note 147). The Dutch late Neo-Classical furniture with restrained marquetry decoration has no equivalent in France; it is more reminiscent of English work (Note 148). The pattern-books of Hepplewhite and Sheraton undoubtedly found their way to the Dutch Republic and the 'English' furniture mentioned in Amsterdam sources from 1787 probably reflected their influence. However, the introduction of the late, restrained Neo-Classical style in furniture was not the result of English influence alone. Rather, the two countries witnessed a parallel development. In England, too, marquetry was re-introduced under French influence around 1760 and it gradually became much simpler during the last quarter of the century, French influences being amalgamated into a national style (Notes 150, 151). On the whole, the Frertch models were followed more closely in the Netherlands than in England. Even at the end of the century French proportions still very much influenced Dutch cabinet-making. Thus the typically Dutch late Neo-Classical style sprang from a combirtation of French and English influences. This makes it difficult to understand what exactly was meant by the distinction made between ;French' and 'English' furniture at this time. The sources offer few clues here and this is even true of the description of the sale of the stock of the only English cabinet-maker working in Amsterdam at this period, Joseph Bull of London, who was active between 1787 and 1792, when his goods were sold (Notes 155, 156).

Il faut voir dans le procès de Louis XVI un acte de justice politique. Le roi fut effectivement jugé mais son procès fut adapté à la nature politique de l'affaire qui fut, par ailleurs, le théâtre d'affrontements partisans entre la Gironde et la Montagne. Les montagnards l'emportèrent finalement : à l'issue de ce jugement, les girondins n'étaient plus majoritaires au sein de l'assemblée. Mais surtout, le procès et l'execution du roi portèrent un coup fatal à l'absolutisme de droit divin.

Comment s'organiser pour influencer les décisions du monarque absolu? À travers l'étude du «parti dévot », ce travail analyse la mutation d’une forme de parti à la Cour de France. Sous le règne de Louis XIV et dans la première moitié de celui de Louis XV, le « parti dévot » était une faction (forme de parti structuré autour de familles et d'amitiés héréditaires). Il défendait le catholicisme d'Etat, dans la lignée du cardinal de Richelieu. Parlementaires, l'avènement des Lumières et l'émergence de l'individu bouleversèrent le «parti dévot », qui devint un proto-parti absolutiste et antiparlementaire. La prise de parti ne dépendait plus des fidélités sociales, mais des idées défendues par des individus. Cependant, l’usure du pouvoir et les querelles internes provoquèrent la dissolution du proto-parti, sous Louis XVI<br>How did people influence the decisions of the absolute King? This work analyses the mutation of the "devout party" configuration at the Court of France, under King Louis XIV, King Louis XV and King Louis XVI. The first part of this thesis shows that the "devout party" represented a royal catholic faction in the XVII century and at the beginning of the XVIII century. This kind of organized party was based on patronages and families that defended State Catholicism ideas in the same vein as cardinal de Richelieu. A second part deals with the change of the royal catholic faction into a proto-party which was supporting absolutism against Parliaments. Progressively, people entering this party were mostly defending ideas rather than being loyal ta social conventions. Since 1769, the "devout party" was confronted in the government to the wearing down of the power and to internal quarrel. At the beginning of 1780, the "devout party" had lost its political weight

L'éducation des princes, illustrée par des noms célèbres, Bossuet ou Fénelon, semble de prime abord connue. Nombre de précepteurs ne sont toutefois jamais sortis de l'ombre et aucune étude d'ensemble, sur deux siècles, n'a jamais mis en perspective ces éducations dont l'objectif était de façonner un prince idéal. A la fin du XIXe siècle, les recherches entreprises parallèlement au développement de l'instruction publique ont laissé une image réductrice et partielle de cette éducation princière. L'histoire culturelle des élites et l'étude des cours ouvrent des champs nouveaux d'investigation. Les matières enseignées nécessitent une nouvelle approche et une relecture des sources s'impose. Ce travail apporte ainsi un éclairage neuf sur l'éducation de quarante-deux princes qui furent de futurs rois ou des chefs de famille tels que les Conti, Condé et Orléans. Que signifie " éduquer un prince " du XVII au XVIIIe siècle? Comment concevoir l'éducation d'un enfant appelé à devenir un Roi. Quelles vertus transmettre ? Quels savoirs et quels comportements permettent d'apprendre à gouverner ? Quels hommes choisir pour ces missions? De 1600 à 1789, les modèles humanistes, les plans d'étude des Collèges ou l'éducation aristocratique sont mis à profit dans le but de créer un modèle d'éducation princière fondé sur une hiérarchie des savoirs où l'histoire jouait un rôle fondamental. Restait à adapter ce modèle original à des modes de gouvernement chaque jour plus complexes. Cette thèse comporte trois volets: l'étude du personnel qui a la lourde tâche de façonner ce prince idéal, l'analyse des théories éducatives et des moyens mis en œuvre et la " fabrication " pratique d'un prince<br>The education of the princes as illustrated by famous names- Fénelon or Bossuet- would seem to be well known. Many tutors however are unknown and no overall study spanning the two centuries of their contribution to the education of an ideal prince has been carried out. At the end XIXth century, the research undertaken in parallel with the development of the state education gave a partial vision of the princes education. The cultural history of the elite and the study of the courses open new fields of investigation. The material taught require a new approach and a second reading of the sources is essential (manual written for the education, exercise books, works of dedication, instruments teaching). This work sheds new light on the education of forty-two princes who were future kings or heads of household such as Conti, Condé and Orleans. What does "to educate a prince" mean during the Modern Age? How can we understand the education of a future King? Which virtues are transmitted? What knowledge and behaviour are necessary to learn how to govern? Who should be chosen for these tasks? From 1610 to 1789, humanistics models, the study cursus in the Colleges or in aristocratic education were put to use with the aim of creating a model of education for the princes founded on a hierarchy of knowledge in which history played a fundamental role. The model needed to be adapted to ever more complex forms of government. This thesis is composed of three parts: a study of the personnel with the heavy task of raising an ideal prince, an analysis of the educational theories and the means used and the practical "making" of an idéal prince with regard to both his virtues and his manner

L'étude des rapports de Diderot et de l'actualité politique de son temps se rattache à l'étude de sa pensée politique, l'analyse critique à partir des textes théoriques n'a pas toujours défini de doctrine politique cohérente. En étudiant les réactions et les commentaires de Diderot sur la politique sous les règnes de Louis XV et de Louis XVI, il se dégage un comportement qui n'obéit pas à un système politique préétabli, mais qui se définit par rapport à une expérience vécue. Les textes étudiés couvrent une période qui s'échelonne de 1742 à 1784 et concernent essentiellement la politique intérieure et extérieure du royaume. D'évidence, il n'est pas possible de retrouver toute l'actualité dans l'œuvre de Diderot. L'intérêt qu'il porte à certaines questions et non à d'autres est significatif. Il faut en relever les indices dans la littérature polémique ou journalistique, auxquels il convient d'ajouter les nombreuses digressions de la correspondance générale. Sous Louis XV les commentaires de Diderot se rapportent à la politique intérieure sous ses aspects : religieux, parlementaires, économiques, sociaux et culturels et à la politique extérieure de la France : Guerre de sept ans, politique coloniale et politique européenne. Sous le règne de louis XVI l'amitié qu'il porte pour Turgot et pour Necker le rend circonspect. Désormais c'est sous la plume de Raynal que Diderot insère dans l'Histoire des deux Indes une véritable chronique de son temps où se mêlent à la politique intérieure, les nombreux problèmes des colonies, de l'esclavage et du rôle de la France dans les conflits politiques qui secouent l’Europe, l’Asie et l'Amérique. Cette déambulation méandreuse, en mettant en rapport biographie et histoire, a permis de retracer un intérêt permanent de Diderot à la politique de son temps et à déterminer selon les questions abordées des valeurs constantes ou conjoncturelles ayant une portée et une signification qui révèlent un grand politique<br>Diderot's study of relations and the political events of his era is connected with the study of his political thoughts. The critical analysis out of theoretical texts has not always defined any coherent political doctrine. In studying Diderot’s reactions and the commentaries on politics in the reigns of Louis XV and Louis XVI, comes out a behavior that does not obey an already established political system but which becomes distinct when compared with experience. The studied text cover a period going from 1742 to 1784 and deals essentially with the home and foreign policy of the kingdom. Obviously, it is impossible to find all aspects in the works of Diderot. The interests that he shows towards certain question and not the others is significant. We must point out the signs in the polemic or journalistic literature to which is convenient to add the numerous digression of the general correspondence. In the reign of Louis XV, Diderot’s commentaries are connected with the home policy under its religious, parliamentary, economic, social and cultural aspects, and with the foreign policy of France: 7 years’ war, colonial policy, European foreign policy. In the reign of Louis XVI, his friendship with Turgot and with Necker makes him prudent. Henceforth, it's under the pen of Raynal that Diderot inserts in l'Histoire des deux Indes a real chronical of his era where the home policy is wingled with the numerous problems of the colonies, slavery, and the role of France in the political conflict that shakes Europe, Asia and America. This tortuous research in putting together biography and history has enabled us to retrace a permanent interest of Diderot with the policy of his era and to determine, according to the questions tackled, constant values or values connected with conjunctures having an implication and a meaning that reveal him as a great politician

L'histoire du 5e Régiment de Hussards, de sa création dans les dernières années de l'Ancien Régime à la fin des Cent Jours, permet d'étudier sa composition sociale et l'évolution de son recrutement, de connaître le rôle de la cavalerie en général et de la cavalerie légère en particulier dans ses missions de guerre et d'aborder les aléas de l'histoire militaire à travers l'histoire d'une unité. Grâce aux archives du Service Historique de l'Armée de Terre, il est possible de connaître la composition réelle du régiment en utilisant ses registres administratifs : origine géographique, âge, taille, situation sociale, caractéristiques physiques, recrutement, mais aussi les phénomènes liés à la vie militaire de cette époque : insoumission, remplacement militaire, émigration, réaction des officiers et des hussards aux différents changements politiques. L'analyse systématique de tous les dossiers des officiers et cavaliers du 5e Hussards, permet d'étudier, la vie et la mort de ces soldats entre 1783 et 1815 : les grades et les distinctions, la loge maçonnique du régiment, les pertes effectives du fait des campagnes militaires : morts, blessés (causes de la mort, natures des blessures), prisonniers, mais aussi les pertes liées à la vie militaire : les maladies (types de maladies rencontrées), les décès dans les hôpitaux, les duels, la désertion, les réformes, les changements de régiment. Cette recherche aborde aussi toutes les opérations militaires auxquelles le 5e Régiment de Hussards prit part de 1783 à 1815 et la place du régiment dans ces différentes campagnes<br>History of the 5th Hussars, from its creation in the last years of the Old Regime to the end of the Hundred Days, allows to study its social composition and the evolution of its recruitment, to know more about role of cavalry and the light cavalry in particular in its mission of war and to deal with the risks of the military history through the history of a military unit. Tanks to the archives of the “Service Historique de l'Armée de Terre”, it is possible to be acquainted with the real composition of the regiment by using its administrative registers : geographic origin, age, size, social condition, physical characteristics, recruitment, but also phenomena related to military life of the time : insubordination, military replacement, emigration, reaction from the officers and hussars to the various political changes. Systematic analysis of all the files of the officers and riders of the 5th Hussars, allows to study the life, the deaths of these soldiers from 1783 to 1815 : ranks and distinctions, the Masonic lodge of the regiment, losses because of military campaigns (the dead, wounded – the causes of death, nature of wounds), prisoners but also losses related to military life : diseases (type of the disease), deaths in hospitals, duels, desertion, short listed, changes of regiment. This research also tackles all the military operations the 5th Hussars took part into from 1783 to 1815 and the place of the regiment in these various campaigns

En juin 1787 le pouvoir central, aux côtés des intendants, instaure dans un esprit réformateur et décentralisateur des Assemblées provinciales. L’histoire de l’administration provinciale prend fin avec le décret de la Constituante du 22 décembre 1789 qui adopte le principe d’une division uniforme et rationnelle du royaume et en confie la gestion à une nouvelle administration. Le découpage de la province de Picardie donne ainsi naissance au département de la Somme. Au-delà des ruptures, la nouvelle administration départementale de la Somme est néanmoins empreinte d’éléments marquants de continuité avec l’administration des intendants et de l’Assemblée provinciale de Picardie. L’étude des administrateurs, de l’organisation bureaucratique, des activités administratives et contentieuses, témoigne de l’existence d’un certain continuum administratif, tant en Picardie que dans le département de la Somme entre 1787 et 1792, au-delà des réformes et des ruptures politiques et sociales<br>The central power, alongside the Intendants, instituted provincial assemblies in June 1787 in a spirit of reform and decentralisation. The provincial assembly’s story ended with the constitutional assemblies’ decree of 22 December 1789 which applied the principle of uniform and rational division of the kingdom and conferred administrative powers to a new administrative body. Thus, the division of the province of Picardy gave birth to the department of the Somme. Notwithstanding the discontinuities, the new administration of the Somme was marked by the significant similarities with the administration of the Intendants and the provincial assembly of Picardy. A study of the administrators, the bureaucratic organisation, administrative activities, and litigation, reveals the existence of certain continuity in the administration of the province of Picardy and the department of the Somme between 1787 and 1792 other than reforms and political changes

Ete 1789 : les principes. 21 septembre 1792 : premiere republique francaise, entretemps, la republique s'invente a l'initiative de quelques hommes en juin 1791. C'est cette nouveaute, dans sa fragilite historique que l'on presente ici. La divergence se marque en fait des la fuite du roi a varennes, entre robespierre et ces republicains, condorcet, brissot, paine, significativement lisible dans les propositions institutionnelles concernant la representation, et dans la pratique de la parole publique. Ce quelque chose de neuf dans l'espace politique, qui sera emporte dans la tourmente de la terreur, tente d'abord de resister a la categorisation des mots du politique, pour tenter de veritables confrontations. La mefiance a l'oeuvre dans la terreur fait ressortir la confiance, certaines formes de confiance, comme une dimension meconnue de l'espace politique. "l'invention de la republique" bouscule les categories du social, et met au defi d'inventer et de penser de nouvelles formes de socialibilite dans lesquelles se revelent des sujets politiques<br>The summer of 1789 : the principles. 21st of september 1792 : the first french republic. Between these two dates, thanks to the initiative of a few men, the republic was invented in june 1791. It is this novelty, in its historical fragility, that will be presented here. As early as the king's flight to varennes, the divergence of opinion between robespierre and the republicans, condorcet, brissot and paine, is very apparent in the institutional propositions concerning representation, and in the way of making political speeches. This new entity in the political sphere, which would be swept away in the turnmoil of the terror, initially tried to resist the categorisation of political terms in an attempt to have real confrontations. The distrust at work in the terror made confidence, or certain kind of confidence, stand out as a little recognised dimension of the political sphere. 'the invention of the republic' disrupts social categories and challenges people to invent new forms of sociability, freed from narcissism, in which political subjects then appear

Cette étude sur l'hôtel du Garde-Meuble de la Couronne de 1774 à 1798, actuel Hôtel de la Marine place de la Concorde, comprend trois parties; les directeurs au XVIIIe siècle, le décor et le mobilier de leur appartement et les collections royales. Les Fontanieu possédaient la charge d'intendant des meubles de la Couronne depuis Louis XIV. Pierre Elisabeth (1767-1784), cultivé et amateur, connaissait bien le milieu artistique parisien. Thierry de Ville d'Avray (1784-1792) était l'aboutissement de l'ascension sociale de sa famille par l'achat de charges. Moins cultivé que son prédécesseur, il géra le Garde-Meuble en administrateur. Pour la réalisation de son appartement, Fontanieu fit appel aux artisans des équipes royales. Ils réalisèrent un des plus beaux ensembles du début des années 1770. Thierry agrandit l'appartement et choisit un mobilier plus spectaculaire. Pour eux, la richesse des décors reflétait le prestige de leur administration. Réunies par Louis XIV par goût et pour témoigner de l'éclat de sa couronne, les collections d'objets d'art quittèrent Versailles au XVIIIe siècle, par l'indifférence de Louis XV. Exposées au public au Garde-Meuble à partir de 1776, elles témoignaient du faste de la monarchie. La Révolution les intégra au patrimoine national mais les considéra comme une réserve de bibelots. Malgré son prestige, à son apogée au XVIIIe siècle, la Révolution refusa au Garde-Meuble le rôle de musée pour le cantonner à la stricte gestion du mobilier. Il devint l'actuel Mobilier national<br>This research about the hotel du Garde-Meuble de la Couronne from 1774 to 1798, now the French navy headquarters place de la Concorde at Paris, is made up three parts: the directors at the XVIIIe century, decoration and furniture of their apartment and the royal collections. The office of intendant des meubles de la Couronne belonged to the Fontanieu's family since Louis XIV. Pierre Elisabeth (1764-1784), cultured and art lover, knew very well the Parisian artistic sphere. Thierry de Ville d'Avray (1784-179z) was the result of the social ascension of his family with offices. Less cultured than his predecessor, he managed the garde-meuble as an administrator. For the realisation of his apartment, Fontanieu appeal to the royal craftsmen. They realized one of the most beautiful decoration of the beginning of the 1770's. Thierry extended the apartment and choose spectacular furniture. For them, sumptuousness of the apartment reflected the administration's prestige. Collected by Louis XIV by pleasure and for ostentation, the royal collections of objets d'art left Versailles during the XVIIIth century by the lack of interest from Louis XV and Louis XVI. Exhibit at the Garde-Meuble since 1776, the collections showed the monarchy's pomp. The revolution considered them as national patrimony, but they became a reserve of curios. The prestige of the garde-meuble was at the height in the XVIIIth century, but the Revolution did not accept it was a museum: the Garde-Meuble had just to manage the furniture: it became the present French Mobilier national

This thesis examines the portraiture and patronage of Marie Thérèse Louise de Savoie-Carignan, the princesse de Lamballe (1749-1792). It is the first comprehensive and detailed study to be undertaken of the princess's activities as patron. Lamballe was Marie-Antoinette's longest-serving confidante and Superintendent of the Queen's Household. Through close formal analysis of the portraits combined with careful consideration of the sitter's personal circumstances and the wider cultural and historical context, the thesis challenges scholarly assumptions that the princess had only negligible influence as a sitter and patron. As a case study of an independent, professionally ambitious and childless widow, it identifies a wider range of motives and cultural meanings than has previously been ascribed to female court patronage of this period. The first chapter demonstrates that the early depictions of Lamballe as a docile and grieving princess were largely dictated by her father-in-law, an identity the princess subsequently discarded when she assumed a professional role at court. Chapter two examines portraits executed during the princess's rise to political and social prominence and shows that her attachment to the queen and the length of time she spent in her company and service, together with her publicly visible roles as freemason and salonnière, made her a figure of considerable renown and influence and thereby a highly significant patron at the French court. This was enhanced by the princess's international reputation as a talented amateur artist in her own right and by her financial and social support of aspiring artists and art institutions. The princess's engagement with the cult of sentiment and advocacy of women artists is allied to the sorority encouraged by Marie-Antoinette within the women of her select circle. Complementary chapters on the princess's previously unknown anglophile inclinations (discussed in Chapter three) and her private collections, library, and musical and literary patronage (considered in Chapter four) further reveal that Lamballe was an informed and cultivated female patron who operated at the very centre of Marie-Antoinette's circle.

The decline of France as a European power is an established eighteenth-century development and one that was laid at the Bourbon monarchy's door by its critics during the ancien régime. Within a worldview shaped by the aristocratic honour code, Louis XV and Louis XVI were seen as having dishonoured themselves and the country they ruled, by their political failures and especially the Austrian alliance concluded in 1756. These arguments were then adopted in the early stages of the French Revolution. Restoring that same honour, now increasingly attached to the nation and not the Bourbon dynasty, was a central objective of the members of both the National and Legislative Assemblies, and was integral to the Brissotin campaign for war against Austria, declared in spring 1792. This chapter reinforces the importance of continuities in political culture after 1789 and demonstrates the ways in which foreign policy was more central to the early Revolution than sometimes appreciated, contributing to the ‘nationalisation of honour’ (Hampson), as the nation and not the monarchy, became its focus.

In this account of Colson and his neighborhood from the fall of 1791 through the early summer of 1793, the emphasis is on his slow, wavering evolution toward an increasingly radical position. Of particular importance as signs of Colson’s evolution were his changing attitudes toward, on the one hand, the Catholic Church and the clergy and, on the other, King Louis XVI. Though he had always practiced orthodox Catholicism before 1789, Colson came to support the Revolutionary reorganization of the church and the clergy embodied in the Civil Constitution of the Clergy. And though under the Old Regime he had always supported the king, he gradually turned against him after Louis’s attempted flight in 1791 and, above all, after war broke out between France and Austria in April 1792. Though he readily agreed with the overthrow of the monarchy in 1792, he would have preferred the imprisonment or exile of the king rather than his execution. Nevertheless, in 1793 he came strongly to support Robespierre and his faction of the Mountain in their struggle against the Girondins.