Coronelli globes
The Coronelli globes, or globes by Marly, are two globes (of the earth and the sky ) 4 meters in diameter, built by Vincenzo Coronelli as a gift to Louis XIV at the end of the 17th century . The terrestrial globe shows the world known at the time and the knowledge of the Europeans in the years 1670–1680 about the indigenous population of the three continents Asia, Africa and America, while the celestial globe shows the position of the stars when Louis XIV was born ( 1638 ).
history
These globes were funded by Cardinal d'Estrées to give them to the King of France, Louis XIV , whose ambassador to the Holy See he was. The cardinal was very impressed by the globes that the Italian cartographer Vincenzo Coronelli had made for the Duke of Parma in 1678 . So he decided to commission two large globes for Louis XIV. They were made in Paris from 1681 to 1683 , probably in the Hôtel de Lionne (now destroyed). The exhibition furniture was built by the French Jules Hardouin-Mansart and the British Michael Butterfield .
Although they were supposed to adorn the Palace of Versailles , they stayed in Paris while waiting for an architectural solution for the presentation. An exhibition in the small orangery was planned but abandoned in 1690. After all, they were installed in Marly-le-Roi in 1703 , which is why they are now called the “Marly Globes”. In Marly-le-Roi Castle , where the pavilions were built especially for large exhibits by Jules Hardouin-Mansart , the globes impressed visitors, including the British Queen Anne , who she visited on August 12, 1704 at the court of Louis XIV. discovered.
The globes left Marly in 1715 to be stored in the Louvre in Paris . The architects of the Royal Library building took into account its dimensions in order to display it there. The room was ready to hold the globes in 1731, but they were not on display until 1782. Jacques-François Blondel was amazed at this situation in his comment on the plan of the royal library, which he published in Architecture françoise in 1754 :
“La pièce marquée M fut construite en 1731, pour y placer deux globes (…) mais depuis qu'on les a apportés de Marly, ils sont restés encaissés et ne sont point encore exposés à la vûe des connoisseurs. (...) Sans doute on ne privera pas encore longtemps le public d'une curiosité si peu commune et qui, ayant coûté tant de dépense, mérite bien qu'on en rendre l'accès facile. "
“The piece was constructed in 1731 in order to place two globes there (…) but since they were brought from Marly, they have remained in existence and are still not shown to connoisseurs. (…) There is no doubt that such a curiosity will not be withheld from the public for long, it has already cost so much, it deserves to be simply given access to the globes. "
As a result of renovations in the large reading room , the globes left the library in 1901. They were stored in Versailles, where they were forgotten and the keys to the storage room were even lost.
The cartographer Michel Morel found their traces again at the beginning of the 1970s with the help of Edmond Pognon , honorary chief curator of the Département des cartes et plans in the Bibliothèque nationale de France , after 1976 with the help of Monique Pelletier . Morel then turned to the international association of Friends of Coronellis, who urged an exhibition of the pieces. They have been restored and were the occasion for the cartography exhibition Cartes et Figures de la Terre (Maps and Images of the Earth) in the Center Georges Pompidou from May 24th to November 17th 1980. On this occasion, the globes were bought by the French Army Reserve ( four chain armor were required for this undertaking) from the Orangery in Versailles to Beaubourg. The restoration work lasted 60 days, starting in Versailles and moving on to Beaubourg. Under the direction of Michel Morel, the disguise was removed and worked inside. When the cladding was opened, Michel Morel declared them to be in poor condition; a layer of dust had accumulated during their exhibition in the library between 1782 and 1901. The molton protection that should have protected them from this was completely destroyed in places.
After the exhibition, the globes were again stored in Versailles, then moved to the Cité des sciences et de l'industrie in La Villette (Paris) . They were then re-exhibited at the Expo 2000 in Hanover , but never left Paris: they were shown in their Paris warehouses at the request of the organizers of the exhibition, as the organizers did not have the right to display the globes in Germany .
They were exhibited in the Grand Palais in September 2005 without their furniture (see photos). After a small restoration of the poles in June / July 2006, the globes were set up in the east wing of the Bibliothèque François-Mitterrand and have since been open to the public there, again without their furniture. The absence of furniture is explained by the height and weight of the ensemble.
They are listed in the collection of the Département des cartes et plans of the Bibliothèque nationale de France under the numbers Ge A 499 and Ge A 500.
The globes are the subject of a 2008 French postage stamp.
- The globes, exhibited in the Grand Palais in Paris
Terrestrial globe
Detail of North America
Celestial globe
Celestial globe
description
Description of the globes
The two balls have a diameter of 387 centimeters and weigh about 2 tons each. The diameter reaches 487 centimeters if you add the meridians and the horizon circles. Its frame is made of wood (probably made of pear ) and covered with linen. Each globe is equipped with two flaps: one for viewing and one for ventilation.
The exhibition furniture of the globes is also of large dimensions, it supports the ensemble at a height of more than 8 meters. Each bronze and marble furniture weighs more than fifteen tons.
Description of the illustrations
Jean-Baptiste Corneille is quoted among the images that illustrate the globe .
The globe shows the world known at the time and California is already listed, in the form of an island. It has more than 600 explanations, some of which are very long. Specialists were entrusted with the texts and the geographical drawings. The drawing of the Mississippi was made by Jean-Baptiste Franquelin , a cartographer working in Québec , and by Cavelier de La Salle , explorer of these areas.
The celestial globe represents the position of the stars at the birth of Louis XIV. Painted and colored by Jean-Baptiste Corneille, the constellations in the form of mythical creatures, the stars and the planets are shown, all in a blue camaïeu . The names of the constellations are written out in four languages: French , Latin , Ancient Greek and Arabic . Seven stars are named in Arabic only. The globe also shows the orbits of some celestial bodies in the course of the 17th century, including comets .
Today we know the full texts of the many descriptions thanks to François Le Large, one of the guardians of this treasure, who at the beginning of the 18th century carefully copied all the inscriptions that could be seen on the globes. These documents were valuable in the restoration prior to the Beaubourg exhibition in 1980.
Books and films
- Monique Pelletier, "Les Globes de Louis XIV à Beaubourg", dans Bulletin de la Bibliothèque nationale , number 3, 1980, page 142
- Monique Pelletier, "Des globes pour le Roi-Soleil: Les origines des" globes de Marly "", in Revue de la Bibliothèque nationale , number 2, 1981, pages 80-86
- Monique Pelletier, "Les Globes de Marly, chefs-d'œuvre de Coronelli," dans Revue de la Bibliothèque nationale , number 47, spring 1993, pages 46-51
- Michel Morel, Compte rendu sur la remise en état des globes dits de Marly, IGN, Saint-Mandé, 1980
- Collectif, Cartes et Figures de la Terre , exhibition catalog, Center Georges-Pompidou and Center de création industrial, Paris, 1980, 479 p. ISBN 2-85850-058-4 , pages 11-14
- Hélène Richard, Les Globes de Coronelli , Bibliothèque nationale de France et Seuil, Paris, 2006, 78 pages ISBN 2-7177-2372-2 | 2-02-088141-1
- Coronelli, les globes de Louis XIV: La Terre et le Ciel par Vincenzo Coronelli , Bibliothèque nationale de France and Montparnasse Multimédia, Paris, 1999, CD-ROM + booklet ISBN 2-7177-2093-6
- "Les Globes de Coronelli, vision d'un monde, vision d'un monarque", in With open cards , presented by Jean-Christophe Victor , realized by Frédéric Ramade, produced by France Culture and ARTE France, broadcast in October 2006 on ARTE
Individual evidence
- ↑ directory number FRBNF40771425 , general catalog of the BNF
- ↑ directory number FRBNF40771426 , general catalog of the BNF
See also
Web links
- The Sun King globes, exhibition of the Bibliothèque nationale de France
- Reconstruction of the globes by Vincenzo Coronelli
- Hall of Globes (Bibliothèque nationale de France)
- The earth and the sky, two globes by Coronelli built for Louis XIV (History of the Globes, Musée des Yvelines)
- Biography of Vincenzo Coronelli
- Details about the transport of the globes (advertising)
- Presentation of the globes by Hélène Richard, Honorary Director of the Plans and Maps Department of the Bibliothèque nationale de France