The Siege of La Rochelle, 1628-31
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The Richard Lewis Hillstrom Fundexpand_more 2023.91.1
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The siege La Rochelle was the climax of an ongoing conflict French Catholics and Protestants. In 1598, the Edict of Nantes had granted the protestant Huguenots considerable autonomy, but in 1621 King Louis XIII upset a precarious balance when he attempted to reestablish Catholic dominance in Huguenot regions. Huguenots began fighting back. La Rochelle was the second or third largest city in France with about 27,000 inhabitants. It was also a Huguenot stronghold. Louis and his chief minister, Cardinal Richelieu, felt it was imperative to bring the city under control. In August 1627 French royal forces began to surround La Rochelle, with an army of 7,000 soldiers. A few weeks later, the Huguenots fired canons at the French troops. The French rapidly expanded their system of trenches and fortifications, including a highly effective seawall. By spring of 1628, 30,000 French soldiers surrounded the city. Despite English efforts to aid the Huguenots, the siege held. La Rochelle had lost 22,000 inhabitants to casualties, hunger, and disease. Eventually, the 5,000 survivors capitulated, and Louis made his solemn entry into the city on October 28, 1628. Under the peace settlement, the Huguenots lost their military and territorial rights. They were allowed to continue to observe their faith, though that right would subsequently be revoked by Louis XIV.
Louis XIII commissioned “The Siege of La Rochelle” from the prolific printmaker Jacques Callot in 1628. In 1630, Charles de Lorme, Louis’s physician bought the not-yet-finished plates, and the project appears to have been completed by 1631. At 57 x 64 inches, the assembly was clearly meant to be mounted for wall display. With Louis’s portrait centered above and his brother’s below, the presence of the view clearly stated the owner’s allegiances. The bird’s-eye view shows the coast of France with the city La Rochelle. At the harbor entrance, we see the seawall erected under Richelieu’s direction. In the foreground, a flotilla of ships maneuver at sea. Though many b
Details
- Title
- The Siege of La Rochelle
- Artist Life
- 1592–1635
- Role
- Artist: Central Scene
- Accession Number
- 2023.91.1
- Catalogue Raisonne
- Lieur 655, 660-661
- Curator Approved
This record has been reviewed by our curatorial staff but may be incomplete. These records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.
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