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The visual arts have long been at the service of an apologia of power. The works of the French painter Jean-Baptiste Martin are a striking illustration of this aspect of the genesis of art. Martin is a representative of absolutist court art. Under Louis XIV the painter served to glorify the military achievements of the Sun King. In the Palatinate War of Succession (1688-1697) for supremacy in Europe, Martin accompanied the Sun King and the Dauphin on two campaigns. During these campaigns, he painted battle scenes depicting the siege and conquest of German and Belgian cities, as well as views of the residences of the French King and Martin nicknamed "Martin the Bataillist". Back from the events of the war, Martin contributed to the artistic decoration of one of the prestige objects of the absolutist ruler, the Hotel des Invalides. With this building complex, Louis XIV set an example of his treatment of deserving soldiers. The hotel was to serve as a refuge for war-disabled French soldiers and demonstrate the ruler's responsibility for his subjects. The absolutist architecture represents the claim to power, which is why such functional buildings were also realized in an imperial style. Martin designed the wall frescos in the four dining rooms, which contained representations of the conquered fortresses and were intended to fill the wounded soldiers with pride for their deeds.
Martin's career shows the structures and functions of absolutist court life. The son of a builder who worked for the Bétiments du Roi, he was part of the extended court. The Bétiments were responsible for the building activities in the royal residences around Paris. Martin started his artistic career as an apprentice of the successful court painter Laurent de la Hyre, who worked for the King and Cardinal Richelieu. Through his father's connections, Martin entered the service of Sébastien Le Prestre Vauban, a general of Louis XIV, who became famous above all for his achievements in the field of fortress construction. As his protégé, Martin finally entered the service of the Flemish painter Adam Frans van der Meulen, who as a portrait and battle painter played a major role in the public painting of the Sun King. Afterwards Martin accompanied the post of director of the tapestry manufactories, providing numerous designs for the tapestries. Martin's career culminated as the king's official painter during his military campaigns against French Protestants in 1699.
Martin's artistic achievement was not the development of a personal style or the expansion of artistic forms of expression, but the fulfilment of absolutist expectations of art. His teacher, van der Meulen, had developed the genre of absolutist ruler depictions and battle myths to perfection. Martin had no reason to change this genre and the technique of his teacher in any way. His works are hardly distinguishable from the van der Meulens. His achievement lay in copying and perfecting the given techniques.
The visual arts have long been at the service of an apologia of power. The works of the French painter Jean-Baptiste Martin are a striking illustration of this aspect of the genesis of art. Martin is a representative of absolutist court art. Under Louis XIV the painter served to glorify the military achievements of the Sun King. In the Palatinate War of Succession (1688-1697) for supremacy in Europe, Martin accompanied the Sun King and the Dauphin on two campaigns. During these campaigns, he painted battle scenes depicting the siege and conquest of German and Belgian cities, as well as views of the residences of the French King and Martin nicknamed "Martin the Bataillist". Back from the events of the war, Martin contributed to the artistic decoration of one of the prestige objects of the absolutist ruler, the Hotel des Invalides. With this building complex, Louis XIV set an example of his treatment of deserving soldiers. The hotel was to serve as a refuge for war-disabled French soldiers and demonstrate the ruler's responsibility for his subjects. The absolutist architecture represents the claim to power, which is why such functional buildings were also realized in an imperial style. Martin designed the wall frescos in the four dining rooms, which contained representations of the conquered fortresses and were intended to fill the wounded soldiers with pride for their deeds.
Martin's career shows the structures and functions of absolutist court life. The son of a builder who worked for the Bétiments du Roi, he was part of the extended court. The Bétiments were responsible for the building activities in the royal residences around Paris. Martin started his artistic career as an apprentice of the successful court painter Laurent de la Hyre, who worked for the King and Cardinal Richelieu. Through his father's connections, Martin entered the service of Sébastien Le Prestre Vauban, a general of Louis XIV, who became famous above all for his achievements in the field of fortress construction. As his protégé, Martin finally entered the service of the Flemish painter Adam Frans van der Meulen, who as a portrait and battle painter played a major role in the public painting of the Sun King. Afterwards Martin accompanied the post of director of the tapestry manufactories, providing numerous designs for the tapestries. Martin's career culminated as the king's official painter during his military campaigns against French Protestants in 1699.
Martin's artistic achievement was not the development of a personal style or the expansion of artistic forms of expression, but the fulfilment of absolutist expectations of art. His teacher, van der Meulen, had developed the genre of absolutist ruler depictions and battle myths to perfection. Martin had no reason to change this genre and the technique of his teacher in any way. His works are hardly distinguishable from the van der Meulens. His achievement lay in copying and perfecting the given techniques.