All Things French! – June 29, 2015

French city historically known for its silk

This one took me back to the history books because, these days, Lyon, is a city better known for its gastronomy.  We must go all the way back to Louis XI in 1466 who set up a silk manufacturer in Lyon.  Later on, Francois I, granted the silk monopoly to the city of Lyon.  After 1540, all silk coming to France or Italy passed through the city of Lyon and its warehouses.

As a result, the silk industry thrived in France for over a century until Henri IV and his A.-C.-Canova-Carre-de-soie_banniere1 infamous  revocation of the Edict of Nantes.  For those who do not recall, the annulment of the Edict of Nantes was implemented by Henry IV, a Catholic, to restore France to its Catholic prominence.  Bad news if you were a Protestant (in other words, a Huguenot).  Many of the Huguenots were experts in the textile industry, and they now fled to other countries taking their knowledge and techniques elsewhere.

It wasn’t until the years prior to the reign of Louis XVI that the silk industry picked up – to decorate the King’s apartments.  The designer, Lacroix, created the royal design school.  Things were progressing well until the French Revolution when many were guillotined or shot – definitely putting a crimp in the industry – one source states that almost 90% of the silk workers were either killed or fled the country.

It took the arrival of Napoleon and Josephine to revitalize the industry, and the 19th century saw the silk industry reach its peak.

________ l’œil (literally, “deceives the eye”)

Personally, I find trompe-l’œil, paintings endlessly fascinating.  While the artwork most often seen with perspectival illusionism is associated with the Baroque period, its true beginnings go back much farther  to Greek and Roman times where such drawings and murals were seen.  Even the ruins of Pompeii show the trompe-l’œil murals.arches

It was during the Renaissance when the understanding of perspective drawing took off, that painters of the Quattrocento such as Andrea Mantegna and Melozzi di Forli created illusionist ceiling paintings.  Their works were done primarily in fresco and used the technique of foreshortening.

800px-Andrea_Pozzo_-_Apoteose_de_Santo_InacioJesuit churches during the Baroque period used the ceiling effect to great use with the “opening” created illustrated the heavens or Jesus and other saints ascending.  A truly amazing example is the dome in Vienna created by Andrea Pozzo.

In addition to artwork seen in galleries and churches, the trompe-l’œil has been employed a great deal in the stage and theater design – again to create the illusion of more space.  It has also been employed in film with one of the more famous being Donald O’Connor in Singin’ in the Rain in his “Running up the wall” scene.

Brawl

OK, I know this was a bit of a stretch to include this in the French category, but the other two were perfect, so I found a word that had its origins in French:  melee.    I assume that most who are reading this already know the definition, but for those who don’t and for those who want a review, here goes:  a confused hand-to-hand fight among several people, or confusion, turmoil or jumble.  This last part is also thought to have given rise to the word, medley.  Of course, when the French spell it, they use accents and make it look so much more presentable:  mêlée.

Now you may ask, why is there a picture of diamonds with this definition?  I’m glad you O_E_melee_diamondasked!  For those wishing to stump someone in a definition, melee is also the name of a group of diamonds each weighing less than 0.25 carat.  How’s that for adding to your already voluminous knowledge?  Look that up in your Funk and Wagnalls as they used to say on Laugh-In!

 

 

One thought on “All Things French! – June 29, 2015

  1. In the first place, I didn’t know Lyon had been known for it’s silk industry and second that the Huguenots were experts in the textile field. Fascinating!
    I,too, love trompe-l’oeil paintings. Sometimes, I don’t see how they do it.
    Melee certainly sounds more civilized than “brawl”, even if it isn’t.

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