"The 'Narrative' of the Tableau: An Introduction to the History of Early Modern French Painting"

2020/12/09

For me, the Western paintings I have been familiar with since childhood were the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works in the collections of Tokyo art museums. Paintings created in the West crossed the ocean to be exhibited in Japanese museums, perfectly illustrating the characteristics of the tableau: autonomy and portability. I used to think of Western painting as synonymous with the tableau, but when I traveled to Europe as a student and experienced large-scale works decorating Catholic cathedrals and palaces in-situ, I was helplessly overwhelmed by the solemn and mystical, or secular and festive, atmosphere they created. These are works that are truly site-dependent and cannot (easily) be moved, making them the antithesis of the tableau.

The 17th-century French painter Nicolas Poussin trained in Paris and then spent most of his career in Rome. As the Eternal City became filled with the dynamic and theatrical art of the Baroque, and while watching many Italian painters make a name for themselves with large-scale frescoes, he continued to insist on medium-sized tableaux. Within the space enclosed by a frame, he painted narrative works to be gazed at from a certain distance and deciphered through reason for private art lovers in Italy and his homeland. Of course, there were various conflicts, but while carrying the traditions of classical antiquity and the Renaissance, he continued to explore a serene and intellectual world in Rome, where the grand and emotionally overflowing Baroque art was in full bloom.

Unlike paintings that draw the viewer in at a single glance, Poussin's works are meant to be "read" carefully, while maintaining a distance to appreciate the balance of the clever composition within the frame. However, this does not mean they lack emotion. A powerful intellect governs it, maintaining an exquisite balance and restraint.

His medium-sized tableaux are known to have had a significant influence on the subsequent art of the French Academy of Fine Arts. It is particularly interesting how this led to the grand ceiling decorations of the Palace of Versailles, designed to inevitably instill the king's authority in visitors. Centering on Poussin's art, this book is an ambitious attempt within a small volume to provide an overview of the history of the tableau—the autonomous form of Western painting—as it navigated conflicts with decorative painting, examining its form, transformations in subject matter, and relationship with the viewer.

"The 'Narrative' of the Tableau: An Introduction to the History of Early Modern French Painting"

Noriko Mochizuki

Keio University Mita Philosophy Society Series

104 pages, 700 yen (excluding tax)

*Affiliations and titles are as of the time of publication.