Saint Isbergue, Sister Of Charlemagne, Receiving From Saint Venant The Advice To Enter Religious Life

100 cm by 120 cm. Oil on canvas, circa 1830-1840, in a beautiful giltwood frame richly decorated with acanthus leaves. At the top are the coats of arms of Charlemagne (Empire and France). Charlemagne is depicted in the center, his sister imploring him to support her refusal to marry. Beside him is Saint Venant, also pleading with the king. To the left, princes are seen conversing; one of them, according to the story, was destined to marry Saint Isbergue. A pentimento (a change of mind) is visible on the sword of the figure to Charlemagne's left, often indicating that it is an original work. This is a medieval legend (in the sense of a narrative). The figure of Saint Isbergue symbolizes the female religious vocation in the face of family and political obligations. This is a typical example of painting from the Restoration period. Following the Empire, the new monarchy needed to legitimize itself; it did not hesitate to invoke the glorious past of medieval France. The monumental Battle of Poitiers (1837, Versailles, by Charles de Steuben) remains the quintessential example of this legitimation through art.