The next room in the series of the summer apartments of Anne of Austria on the ground floor of the Louvre is dedicated to the Paix des Pyrenees. The Vestibule de Paix marks the ending of the Franco-Spanish war that began in 1635 with the signing of the treaty on November 7, 1659, which included the marriage of her son, Louis XIV. Of the 124 articles, no 105 - 124 were dedicated to the joining of France and Spain through the marriage of Louis XIV with the infanta of Spain, Marie-Therese of Austria, daughter of Philipe IV and niece of Anne of Austria, making her a double first cousin to the king. C’est normal, as they say.
The idea made its way onto the ceiling of the vestibule, which opened onto the queen’s garden, which would later be named after another young princess.
The center of the ceiling features Romanelli’s Allegory of the Pyrenees, also known as the Peace, Fruit of the War. In the center, three Roman gods represent the ideals of peace. Mars, on the left with a spear behind him and wearing a helmet topped with a dragon as the god of war and warriors, holds one side of the banner that reads the Fruits of Victory. In the center, Minerva, the goddess of wisdom, has an olive branch, although that was not her original offering. Romanelli originally painted her holding a lily, symbolizing the Bourbon family. During the Revolution, it was decreed to remove all reminders of the monarchy, including the fleur de lys, and the elements of the Louvre were not exempt, and every lily they could find was repainted or chiseled away.
On the right, holding the other end of the banner, is Mercury, the messenger god. He has his caduceus in his other hand while wearing his signature winged sandals and helmet. Above the trio of guards are three genies holding a Bourbon crown, which survived the Revolution.
The theme of peace continues in the paintings in the north and south cornices. On the north side, the Goddess of Abundance rests on her cornucopia and distributes the earth’s bounty. She looks toward the sea and Neptune, representing the maritime trade, holding his trident in his chariot pulled by seahorses.
On the south cornice, Peace sets fire to a pile of armor and weapons and holds an olive branch in her other hand. Behind her is the allegory of history inscribing “of the war of peace” while soldiers are held captive next to her.
On either side of the paintings are four stucco allegories by Michel Anguier, representing the great rivers of France. Looking towards the north, on the left, the Loire, with its long beard and oar with grape vines over its head, represents the region’s excellent wine. On the right, the Garonne of the SW of France, with pears and grapes beside him, is shown.
On the south side, looking to the right, is the Rhone, who sits on a lion representing the city of Lyon and a cornucopia of fruits above. On the left, the easiest of the four to spot is the Seine, holding a boat representing Paris and an apple tree for Normandy. On the east and west sides are Angueir’s angels holding a seal with fleur de lys recreated after the Revolution.
Under Napoleon in 1799, the Anne of Austria rooms were added to the Musée Napoleon to hold many items he “picked up” on his travels. A few of the apartments’ walls and doors were removed, making a lovely vista to the back end of the suite of rooms and the Laocoon statue taken from the Vatican.
The opening of the rooms allowed the addition of eight very special columns. At the same time, Napoleon had lofty ideas about aligning himself with the great holy Roman emperor Charlemagne, who died in 814. In 1798, on a visit to Aachen Cathedral in Germany, where the first emperor of France was buried, Napoleon took a few of the marble columns from the upper gallery. The forty columns Charlemagne had initially taken from the eglise Saint Gereon in Cologne would then make their way to Paris and into the Louvre. In 1815, after the fall of Napoleon, most of them were returned, except the eight that can be seen in the Vestibule of Peace.
The fourth room was the queen’s grand cabinet, and the first of two rooms was her private oasis. Romanelli and Anguier continued their vision on the ceilings, which featured the ancient stories of Rome.
In the center, Poetry and History Celebrating the Exploits of Rome, you may now recognize a few figures from the earlier ceilings. In the center
History sits on the left and holds a book on her lap while looking towards Time in the lower part of the painting. In the center of the grouping, an allegory of Rome holds the orb of the world while Poetry looks up at her. Fame, with her trumpet, is ready to announce Rome’s greatness. Finally, Rome is being crowned by the Genius of Glory. The beautiful blue sky surrounding the ceiling gives it a lightness that ties in all the stories below.
Four paintings within the cornice give us a deeper look into Roman history. Starting on the west side, the Abduction of the Sabines tells the story of a scene from the 8th century BC Rome. Romulus was worried that the population of Rome was stalled and decided they needed more women. Visiting the nearby towns, the Roman soldiers pleaded with the leaders for the women to be allowed to marry them, but every city turned down the offer. So what did the Romans do? They threw a party dedicated to Neptune and invited all the local townspeople. Romulus would give a signal, and at that moment, his soldiers knew to grab all the Sabine women. A popular theme told through many paintings and sculptures and often titled the Rape of the Sabines, which means kidnapping, not assault.
On the east wall, the Continence of Scipio occurred in the 3rd century BC during Scipio's campaign in Spain during the Second Punic War. Scipio Africanus, a powerful Roman general, also had a way with the ladies and often had them delivered to him. Scipio refused to accept a ransom for a young female prisoner when he learned that she was already engaged to another man. He immediately summoned her fiancé and her parents and happily returned her to them. Romanelli shows the young woman in blue behind Scipio with her father and fiancé kneeling in appreciation for her release.
The north and south paintings are more miniature but just as impactful. In the north, we see former politician Lucius Cincinnatus leaning on his shovel. Serving from 460 BC, he decided to retire and live out his life on his farm. Two senators visited him one day, brought his robe, and asked him to return to lead the state. He agreed, returned, and quickly defeated the enemy in sixteen days. He then stepped down and returned to his farm.
Above the south wall, Mucius Scaevola places his hand on the fire before the Etruscan king. In a tale from the 6th century BC, the young Mucius snuck into a camp to kill Porsena, King of the Etruscans. He came across two men dressed the same, and he chose the wrong one and destroyed the scribe. Captured, he declared he was a Roman man, unafraid of anything, and placed his left hand in the fire. Amazed by his bravery, he was released.
Anguier stucco sculptures of warriors and young women hold up medallions in each corner, representing more episodes of Roman history, including the Innocence of the Vestal Tuccia, the Devotion of Curtius throwing himself into Chasa for the Salvation of the Romans, Romulus, and Remus.