Grande Commande

The "grande commande" was a commission ordered by Louis XIV for statues intended to decorate the "parterre d’eau" of the gardens of the Palace of Versailles, as initially conceived in 1672. The commission, which included 24 statues and four groups, [All but the "Abduction of Coronis by Neptue" were completed.] was ordered in 1674. Designed by Charles Le Brun from Cesare Ripa’s "Iconologia", the statute were executed by the foremost sculptors of the day (Blunt, 1980; Friedman, 1988, 1993; Nolhac, 1913; Thompson, 2006; Verlet, 1985).

Owing to concerns of the effects of the vertical lines of the statues in relations to the garden façade of the château, the statues of the "grande commande" were transferred to other locations in the gardens in 1684 (Berger, 1985; Blunt, 1980; Friedman, 1988, 1993; Marie, 1968; Nolhac, 1901, 1913; Thompson, 2006; Verlet, 1985; Weber, 1993).

The 24 statues were personifications of the classic quaternities:

*The Four Humors of Man::*Melancholic::*Phlegmatic::*Choleric::*Sanguine
*The Four Parts of the Day::*Dawn::*Noon::*Evening::*Night
*The Four Parts of the World::*Europe::*Africa::*Asia::*America
*The Four Forms of Poetry::*Lyric::*Pastoral::*Satirical::*Epic
*The Four Seasons::*Spring::*Summer::*Autumn::*Winter
*The Four Elements::*Fire::*Air::*Earth::*WaterThe four groupings represented the four classic Abductions:

*The Four Abductions:::*Persephone by Pluto::*Cybele by Saturn::*Orethyia by Boreas::*Coronis by Neptune ----

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Books

cite book
last =* Berger, Robert W.
title =In the Garden of the Sun King: Studies on the Park of Versailles Under Louis XIV
volume =
publisher =Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks Reserach Library
date =1985cite book
last =* Berger, Robert W.
title =Versailles: The Chateau of Louis XIV
volume =
publisher =University Park: The College Arts Association
date =1986cite book
last =* Blunt, Anthony
title =Art and Architecture in France 1500 to 1700
volume =
publisher =Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England: Penguin Books
date =1980cite book
last =* Marie, Alfred
title =Naissance de Versailles
volume =
publisher =Paris: Edition Vincent, Freal & Cie
date =1968cite book
last =* Marie, Alfred and Jeanne
title =Versailles au temps de Louis XIV
volume =
publisher =Paris: Imprimerie Nationale
date =1976cite book
last =* Nolhac, Pierre de
title =La création de Versailles
volume =
publisher =Versailles: L. Bernard
date =1901cite book
last =* Nolhac, Pierre de
title =Histoire de Versailles
volume =3 v
publisher =Paris: André Marty
date =1911-1918cite book
last =* Nolhac, Pierre de
title =Les jardins de Versailles
volume =
publisher =Paris: Manzi, Joyant et Cie
date =1913cite book
last =* Nolhac, Pierre de
title =Versailles, résidence de Louis XIV
volume =
publisher =Paris: Louis Conard
date =1925cite book
last =* Nolhac, Pierre de
title =Versailles
volume =
publisher =Paris: A. Morancé
date =1929cite book
last =* Nolhac, Pierre de
title =Versailles et la cour de France: L'Art à Versailles
volume =
publisher =Paris: Louis Conard
date =1930cite book
last =* Nolhac, Pierre de
title =La Résurrection de Versailles, souvenirs d'un conservateur, 1887-1920
volume =
publisher =Paris: Plon
date =1937cite book
last =* Ripa, Cesare
title =Iconologia ovvero discrittione dell'imagini universli cavate dall'antichita e da altri luoghi
volume =
publisher =Roma
date =1593-1603cite book
last =* Thompson, Ian
title =The Sun King's Garden: Louis XIV, André Le Nôtre, and the Creation of the Gardens of Versailles
volume =
publisher =London: Bloomsbury Publishing
date =2006cite book
last =* Verlet, Pierre
title =Le château de Versailles
volume =
publisher =Paris: Librairie Arthème Fayard
date =1985

JournalsCitation
last =* Bottineau, Yves
title =Essais sur le Versailles de Louis XIV II: le style et l'iconographie
journal =Gazette des Beaux-Arts
volume =6 per., vol. 112
date =October 1988
pages =119-132Citation
last =* Friedman, Ann
title =The evolution of the Parterre d'eau
journal =Journal of Garden History
volume =vol. 8, no. 1
date =January-March 1988
pages =1-30Citation
last =* Friedman, Ann
title =Charles Le Brun as Landscape Architect: His Designs for the First Parterre d'eau at Versailles
journal =Eighteenth Century Life
volume =vol. 17, n.s., 2
date =May 1993
pages =24-35Citation
last =* Girardet, Raoul
title =Autour de Le Brun: Les artistes de Versailles
journal =Medecine de France
volume =28
date =1951
pages =17-28Citation
last =* Himelfarb, Hélène
title =Versailles, fonctions et legendes
journal =Les Lieux de Mémoire: La Nation II
volume =
date =
pages =235-292Citation
last =* Hoog, Simone
title =Sur la restauration de quelques sculptures du parc du Versailles
journal =Monuments historiques de la France
volume =138
date =April-May 1985
pages =50-56Citation
last =* Josephson, Ragnar
title =Relation de la visite de Nicodème Tessin à Marly, Versailles, Rueil, et St-Cloud en 1687
journal =Revue de l'Histoire de Versailles
volume =
date =1926
pages =150-67; 274-300Citation
last =* Le Guillou, Jean-Claude
title =Le château-neuf ou enveloppe de Versailles: concept et evolution du premier projet
journal =Gazette des Beaux-Arts
volume =6 pér., vol. 102
date =December 1983
pages =193-207Citation
last =* Le Guillou, Jean-Claude
title =Remarques sur le corps central du château de Versailles
journal =Gazette des Beaux-Arts
volume =6 pér., vol. 87
date =February 1976
pages =49-60Citation
last =* Nolhac, Pierre de
title =La construction de Versailles de LeVau
journal =Revue de l'Histoire de Versailles
volume =
date =1899
pages =161-171Citation
last =* Souchal, François
title =Les statues aux façades du château de Versailles
journal =Gazette des Beaux-Arts
volume =6 pér., vol. 79
date =February 1972
pages =65-110Citation
last =* Tadgell, Christopher
title =Versailles: le grand projet
journal =Colloque de Versailles
volume =
date =1985
pages =Citation
last =* Weber, Gerold
title =Charles LeBrun: Recueil des divers dessins de fontaines
journal =Münchner Jahrbuch der bildenden Kunst
volume =
date =1981
pages =151-181Citation
last =* Weber, Gerold
title =Réflexions sur la genèse du jardin français classique et de son décor
journal =Eighteenth Century Life
volume =vol. 17, n.s., 2
date =May 1993
pages =1-23Citation
last =* Wiebenson, Dora
title =Commentaires anglais du XVIIe siècle sur le parc de Versailles
journal =Colloque de Versailles
volume =
date =1985
pages =

References