Examine the importance of monarchical patronage to the arts.

The question requires that candidates examine the interrelationship between artistic development and monarchical patronage. It could be argued that monarchical patronage was very important to the arts as it was the main means of financing artistic endeavor. The arts could be taken to include architecture, sculpture, painting, music, poetry, literature and even porcelain such as Sèvres and tapestries such as Gobelins. Responses could also highlight that monarchs supported the arts in order to enhance their own power. It could also be argued that aristocratic and even bourgeois patrons were as important as monarchical patronage. Examples of monarchs who were great patrons could include Louis XIV in France, where the building of Versailles supported a range of artistic activities (architecture, painting, sculpture); Frederick the Great’s support for music and poetry in Prussia; Augustus II in Saxony (Meissen china) and Goya as court painter in Spain. Candidates’ opinions or conclusions will be presented clearly and supported by appropriate evidence.

The question required that candidates examine the interrelationship between artistic development and monarchical patronage.