english
THE PILLAGING OF LYON BY
THE CALVANISTS IN 1562 inv. n3819
focus
ROOM 9 : CRISES - 16TH C.
the church bells had fallen down to the great confusion of
members of the religious orders who were attempting to flee.
Right in the centre of the picture, some soldiers appeared to be
pledging an oath around the standard, “To serve God and King”.
It is a well-known fact that the objects stolen during the Pillaging
of Lyon were subsequently reclaimed and re-used because the
pillages underpinned the economy of the wars of religion.
What is?
An allegorical vision of Lyon
What is it?...
Sac* de Lyon par les calvinistes in 1562, also known as Sac du
Baron des Adrets, is an oil painting on wood. It dates from the
second half of the 16th c., i.e. shortly after the event depicted: the
iconoclastic actions of Protestants in Lyon, in the spring of 1562.
grey words: items that can be seen in this room
The Calvinist Reform drummed up considerable support in
Lyon where, in 1560, one-third of the population converted to
Protestantism. During the first religious war, Reformists, under
the command of Baron des Adrets, took over the hôtel de ville and
key centres in the city during the night of 29 to 30 April 1562. They
then occupied the place du Change and rue Saint-Jean. On 2 May,
Baron des Adrets’ troops carried out a wave of destruction: in the
Saint-Jean Cathedral, statues taken from the façade were thrown
to the floor, bells were seized to be melted down and the choir’s
clothing was destroyed. The Saint-Just and Saint Nizier churches
were not spared and Ainay Abbey was destroyed. The château
de Pierre-Scize (castle), which belonged to the Archbishop, was
taken over on 7 May 1562. Then the violence stopped.
In March 1563, the Edict of Amboise restored peace to the
Kingdom. In Lyon, the protestant occupation came to an end on
15 June 1563.
Who?
Who did it?...someone anonymous
This painting was long since attributed to the work of artist
Antoine Caron (1521-1599). In 1566, the latter painted a canvas
with some points in common, essentially an architectural
What does that represent?...
Iconoclastic actions
This picture is a genuine “inventory” or list of iconoclastic actions
carried out by Protestants in the battle against Catholic “idolatry”
– the cult of religious images. All images of the Divine were
destroyed. This is known as religious iconoclasm.
Firstly, soldiers mimicked a catholic procession preceded by a
canon bearing statues and other cult objects. Secondly, on the
right, men listed precious objects that had been pillaged and,
on the left, others sold the Church’s possessions to the highest
bidder, including habits which one soldier enjoyed dressing up in.
Thirdly, sacred objects were burned on a funeral pyre, close to two
groups – one of which appeared to be listening to the reading of a
decree and another group which was praying. In the background,
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The architectural structure shown in the painting does not
give a true picture of Lyon at that time. Symbolically, two
imaginary churches attracted all the action in the town.
The hillside in the background could be Fourvière, with its
chapel. The circular church could represent Saint-Nizier,
which had only one bell tower in the 16th century, serving
as the belfry.
Conversely, the Latin inscriptions at the top and bottom of
the picture undoubtedly confirm Lyon as the scene of the
action,
Translation :
“That Calvin’s impious dogma is strengthened by theft and
bloodshed – as portrayed in the painting highlighting the
fall of Lyon.” Whereas Calvin destroyed the sacred rights of
Lyon, such an image of the churches and the town actually
existed.”
HISTOIRE DE LYON
les massacres du Triumvirat, oil on canvass, Antoine caron, 1566,
RMn Photographic Agency
.../...
You may find the notice boards of the museum rooms on our website,
at www.gadagne.musees.lyon.fr
THE PILLAGING OF LYON BY THE CALVANISTS IN 1562
inv. n3819
perspective organised around similar buildings and a circular
church. This was “Massacres du Triumvirat”, representing the
political agreement between Octavia, Mark Anthony and Lepidus
in 43 B.C. This painting depicts the political violence within an
idealised town.
This ancient episode was very popular in the 16th century with
the two camps confronting each other: on 6 April 1561, Constable
de Montmorency, Jacques d’Albon de Saint-André and the Duc
de Guise signed a “Catholic triumvirate” against the Protestants,
To stigmatise the violent tendency of this union, the Prince de
Condé, recently converted to Protestantism, obtained a copy of
the “Massacres du Triumvirat”.
Art historians now doubt whether this is an Antoine Caron
painting. Nevertheless, reference to the topic of “Massacres du
Triumvirat” is obvious.
Who used it?... The Catholic riposte
Confronted with the events of April-May 1562, the Catholics
hurried to make representations that were violently critical of the
Protestant abuse of power in Lyon, going so far as to mimic the
latter…as highlighted in the frontispiece*/illustration to “Discours
des premiers troubles advenus à Lyon” by Gabriel de Saconnay,
in which the Protestants are fairly portrayed as monkeys (see
below)!
Discours des premiers
troubles advenus
à lyon, frontispiece,
detail, gabriel
de saconnay,
printed in 1569, lyon,
Bibliothèque
municipale de lyon
(lyon Municipal
library), Res. 317599.
grey words: items that can be seen in this room
History of a collector’s item
Its arrival in the museum:
The painting was purchased by the musée des Beaux-arts de Lyon
(Lyon Museum of Fine Arts) from a certain Mr. Groboz in 1896. In
1935, it was added to the collections of the Musée Historique de
Lyon (History Museum of Lyon) (Gadagne).
Baron des Adrets (1506-1587)
François de Beaumont, Baron des Adrets (Dauphiné),
brutally carried out iconoclastic actions in Lyon. Such zeal
had not been seen since Geneva where Calvin vehemently
criticised the violence. Following the Pillaging of Lyon,
Baron des Adrets only held command of the town until
17 July 1562, when he was replaced by Soubise, a more
moderate reformist. He continued his wave of terror
in Dauphiné where he burned and pillaged the Grande
Chartreuse in particular. In Montrond-les-Bains (Loire),
the Chronicle reported that he “threw the parish priest
and the churchwarden under
the bell”! Later on, filled with
remorse, he left Calvinism to
return to the Catholic armies
and wage a fierce battle against
the Protestants!
françois de Beaumont, known as Baron
des Adrets, engraving extracted from
le Baron des Adrets,
ed. by firmin-Didot and cie, 1930
An historical object
What it tells us: pro-catholic or pro-protestant?
> Le Sac de Lyon par les calvinistes en 1562 is a symbolic
representation of the historical episode.
> It is also an allegory of protestant iconoclasm overall
condemning, according to certain historians, systematic
iconoclasm. It would, therefore, be used as a catholic
propaganda tool against the reformed at a time when the time
was ripe (physical violence through war and assassination,
symbolic violence through discourse and imagery), to demonize
the other side and win back loyal followers.
> But other historians emphasising the lack of violence against
people depicted in the picture – violence albeit stigmatised at
the time by the Catholics – on the other hand see an idealised
representation of the event. The picture would, therefore, be
an image of the Pillaging of Lyon, as Jean Calvin would have
wished, controlled rather than blood-thirsty, led by pious
protestants praying on bended knee. The Latin inscriptions
mimic in an ironic way the sayings of the Catholics to highlight
extremes: an interplay between a calm image and furious
“sub-titles”! This picture therefore tends to defend protestants
rather than condemn them…
glossary
plunder: pillage, plundering of a town.
frontispiece: an engraving placed in front of the title of a book.
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HISTOIRE DE LYON
You may find the notice boards of the museum rooms on our website,
at www.gadagne.musees.lyon.fr
Design: D. Miège / P. Bosquet / P. gausset – Photo credits: ©muséesgadagne / R. Agustin, ©Bibliothèque municipale de lyon (lyon Municipal library), RMn©gérard Blot
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