Le langage de la violence dans les enluminures des Grandes chroniques de France dites de Charles V

Abstract

The fifty miniatures of the Great Chronicles of France depicting the reign of Jean II and of his son were actually painted at the order of Charles V himself. Fourteen out of these deal with the subject of violence. The miniaturist illustrates and interprets brief moments in history and also generalizes or simplifies war scenes and executions. He adheres more to the essentials of the facts and of ideas than to the anecdotal details. He emphasizes the effects of violence, of which he disapproves, but he avoids painting a picture of blood. The composition of the picture, the proportions and the positions of the persons, their gestures and the colours show talented use of new ideas. The king is one of the privileged actors among the nobility, although his pictorial representation is not exempt from criticism. The ‘Valois’, guarantors of a firmly established society and supporters of Christian values, extending even to the suppression of violence, are the objects of intensive propaganda.