Nicolas GOSSE - Louis XI kneeling in front of Saint François de Paule

Nicolas Louis François GOSSE
(Paris, 1787 - Soncourt, 1878)

Louis XI kneeling in front of Saint François de Paule

Oil on canvas
68 x 90 cm

He was a pupil of François VINCENT. He appeared at the Paris Salon from 1808 to 1870, obtaining a third class medal in 1819 and a second class medal in 1824. He was knighted in the Legion of Honor in 1828, promoted to officer in 1870. We owe him murals of many theaters and buildings such as the Saint-Nicolas-du-Chardonnet church in Paris, the Palais de Justice in Rennes. This autograph copy of the painting exhibited at the Salon of 1844, and mentioned in the collection of Napoleon III in 1858, relates a historical episode that occurred on April 24, 1482 when Louis XI, dangerously ill, believed that Saint François de Paule could cure him. The very theatrical setting summons the main members of the entourage of the King of France including his beloved daughter, Anne de Beaujeu, Duchess of Bourbon. The Salon catalog includes a writing by Philippe de COMMINES: “Towards the end of his career, Louis XI, dangerously ill, believed that Saint François de Paule could cure him; at his instigation and those of the pope, the saint decides to leave his retreat and goes to the castle of Plessis-les-Tours, with his disciples, where the king, supported by his daughter, Anne de Beaujeu, whom he called his angel , and Jacques Coictier, his doctor, threw himself at his feet and said to him, raising his pleading eyes towards him: "Father, have mercy on the state in which I am, and restore my health." I would like it, answered the holy man, but I am nothing on earth that a poor sinner like you, God alone can do everything! Behind the king's armchair are Olivier le Daim and Tristan-l'Hermite, grand-Prévost; forward Galleoti, famous astrologer and warrior, and beside him old Lord Crafford, chief archers of the Scottish Guard. During his illness, our king wore only dresses of satin and crimson velvet, stuffed with good martens ”