1674

The Grande Commande

The Grande Commande was a commission ordered by Louis XIV for statues intended to decorate Versailles’ gardens. Dominated by the apollonian theme, it was composed of six series of four sculptures, inspired by Le Brun’s drawings of allegorical and mythological characters:  the Seasons, the Parts of the Day, the Humors of Man, the Parts of the World, the Elements, the Forms of Poetry, as well as the Four Abductions (Persephone by Pluto, Cybel by Saturn, Orethyia by Boreas, Coronis by Neptune).