Meditating with Prosper Barrigue de Fontainieu (1760-1850)

Expelled by the French Revolution from Marseille to Italy, Prosper Barrigue de Fontainieu, a young lieutenant in the French Royal Navy, took advantage of his exile to study painting with a Flemish master based in Rome, Simon Denis (1755- 1813). Returning to Marseille around 1796, he obtained a teaching position at the municipal drawing school, before being named a member of the local Academy a few years later. A soldier who became a painter, the man also loves Provençal history. Here it depicts the visit, on January 21, 1516, of King Francis I to the sanctuary dedicated to Saint Mary Magdalene, at Sainte-Baume. Building on his recent military successes on the lands of Milan, the 22-year-old young man is also a sovereign benefactor, the artist seems to want to emphasize, while the Restoration restores the nobility of French royalty.

Faced with the state of deterioration of the sanctuary, Francis I also carried out restoration work, allocating a large sum of money to restore the dilapidated buildings. He poses in front of his advisors to whom he designates, on a plan, the work to be carried out. All under the reassured gaze of the Dominican monk who welcomes him. Higher up, on the stairs leading to the sanctuary, a group of women remind us that the king did not come alone. His mother, Louise of Savoy, and his wife, Queen Claude of France, joined him to pay homage to the Palestinian saint. The historical scene is presented in an immense natural setting. The dark mountain and the dense forest are enhanced by a golden sky that brings hope. A large century-old oak tree rises above the king, connecting heaven and earth.