Napoleon as lawgiver: The renewal of an enlightened political motif for the iconographic program of the Louvre’s Cour Carrée

摘要

In the early years of the nineteenth century, Napoleon instigated a series of institutional and political reforms intended to actualize social and moral regeneration in France. In doing so, he conceived of his role as preceptor of the nation through the political writings of the Enlightenment. With its biblical and ancient references, this literature revived the figure of the ideal legislator in response to a weakened divine-right monarchy. The present article discusses the legacy and evolution of the legislator political motif featured in an example of Napoleonic art, a relief ensemble completed in 1807 by Jean-Guillaume Moitte for the new iconographic program of the Louvre’s Cour Carrée. The themes surrounding this composition provide a significant illustration of attempts at the regeneration and subordination of religious communities through legislation taken by Napoleon’s administration.