Funeral of the Grand Condé

Art Historical Context

Jean Berain's *Funeral of the Grand Condé* (ca. 1687) captures the grandeur of one of France's most lavish 17th-century ceremonies. The Grand Condé, Louis II de Bourbon, Prince deé—a celebrated military hero cousin to Louis XIV—died in 6, and his state funeral the following year exemplified the opulent Baroque spectacles of the Sun King's court. This drawing, with its depiction of a crowded procession featuring a prominent cross, evokes the solemn yet theatrical pageantry of royal mourning, blending religious symbolism with architectural pomp. As a master of ornament and design, Berain served as royal designer under Louis XIV, creating intricate decorations for Versailles, opera sets, and court festivities. Classified under drawings of ornament and architecture, this work likely served as a preparatory study or record, highlighting temporary structures, heraldry, and crowd arrangements that defined such events. Its inclusion in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints collection underscores Berain's influence on French decorative arts during the reign's peak. Rendered in pen and brown ink with brush and brown wash on a modest 14½ × 11⅞-inch sheet, the piece showcases Berain's precise linework and subtle tonal shading, techniques ideal for conveying depth and texture in architectural fantasies. This intimate medium allowed artists like Berain to experiment with elaborate compositions, bridging design and historical documentation for posterity.

About the Artist

Jean Berain · 1640–1711

**Jean Bérain the Elder (1640–1711)** was a French draughtsman, designer, painter, and engraver of ornament who served as the central artistic force in the Royal office of the Menus-Plaisirs du Roi. Born in Saint-Mihiel in the Spanish Netherlands (now France) to a master gunsmith, he spent his career in Paris and became one of the defining figures of late 17th-century French decorative arts. Béra...