1763 Moreau Jesuit Allegory of the Catholic Church

This is a symbolically rich 1763 allegorical 'model of religion,' depicting disputes of the day revolving around the Jesuits and their suppression by the French monarchy. Rare in its own right, it is based on a massive painting that hung in the Jesuit College in Billom, Auvergne before being removed during the anti-Jesuit persecutions of the late 18th century.

A Closer Look

This allegorical work ridicules both the Papacy and French monarchy, suggesting the Jesuits are superior to both in terms of religious devotion. At the center is a galleon carrying Ignatius of Loyola (1491 - 1556), founder of the Society of Jesus, holding the distinctive symbol of the Jesuits, a cross with the letters IHS. Behind him are a string of saints revered by the Jesuits who founded religious orders, including St. Francis, St. Dominic, St. Basil, and St. Augustine. Around them on the galleon is text describing the virtues championed by the Jesuits, including imitation of Jesus, prayer, meditation, obedience, and contemplation. The masts and bows of the ship contain similar messages praising science, intelligence, devotion, truth, justice, and poverty (a bit rich coming from the Jesuits). Boxes of text near the main galleon praise the Jesuits for their sacrifices and commitment to fighting for the true faith, as the ship sails towards a 'port de salut' that will convey them to Heaven at top-right.

All around the ship are other Catholics trying to clamber aboard, having recognized the correctness of the Jesuits' actions and faith. Two ships trail behind the main galleon, being towed by it, and herein lies the most incendiary content of the work, as the ships contain both the Pope, with his bishops, and the French king, indicating that they are reliant upon the Jesuits to reach salvation. Other boats nearby contain heretics, apostates (some being eaten by a sea monster), and, at bottom-right, a band of demons representing vices like dissolution, anger, and ambition. At top-left is a depiction of the sinful world of the flesh, defined by base the pursuit of lust, pride, and pleasure.

The text at bottom explains that this work is based on a painting found at the college of the 'so-called Jesuits' at Billom and refers viewers to a report prepared by President Rolland of the Chambre des requêtes du Palais (of the Parlement de Paris), who was placed in charge of the investigation and suppression of the Jesuits. Rolland's thorough report was truly a forensic investigation of the painting's symbolism and satire, though this was hardly necessary as political opinion was already sharply against the Jesuits and their suppression a foregone conclusion.

A Banned Painting

This work is based on a painting that measures roughly 10 feet tall by 20 feet wide that hung in the Jesuit College in Billom, Auvergne, France. The painting's date of production and maker are unknown, but it may date as far back as the late 16th century. It served as a key exhibit in the suppression of the Society of Jesus in France in the 1760s (see below), given its subversive and satirical tone (since it was preserved as 'evidence,' the painting was preserved, surviving the suppression of the Jesuits and the French Revolution, and now is housed at the Hotel de Soubise in Paris). Nevertheless, several prints based on the painting were produced during the period of suppression. Given that some of these were undated, subversive publications, the course of their production can be difficult to trace.

It is clear that an early issue of a print based on the painting was commissioned by the French government in the course of the investigation led by Rolland mentioned above, crafting a plate that is a 'mirror image' of the original painting and adding the anti-Jesuit text across the bottom, seen here. Several examples of a large print exist that appear to pre-date the order's suppression. A smaller print in Latin, like the original painting, appeared in the 1783 book Recueil de plusieurs des ouvrages de Monsieur le President Rolland, while a French translation appeared in the 1826 book La galère Jesuitique. Additional states from perhaps the late 18th or the early 19th century also exist with variations on the title, text (Latin versus French), details (certain ships, imagery, or phrases), and additional text in the margins.

The Suppression of the Jesuits

The suppression of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in the late 18th century was a major turning point in the history of the Catholic Church and was driven by political, ideological, and economic motivations more than religious ones. Being a transnational order composed of highly educated and adept 'crack' missionaries with a fanatical devotion to the Papacy and Catholicism, the Jesuits were always likely to incur suspicion and hatred, including from other Catholic religious orders. The order's involvement in politics and tendency to accumulate considerable wealth also did not endear them to many. In France, the reputation of the Jesuits was badly damaged by one of their number, Antoine Lavalette (1708 - 1767), who brutally mistreated slaves on plantations he managed in the Caribbean (Martinique and Dominica), including instances of murder. Since British ships captured cargo (sugarcane) from his plantations in the course of the Seven Years War (1756 - 1763), Lavalette also accumulated massive debts in France that he was unable to repay. French courts held the entire Jesuit order liable for these debts and, in 1762, went on to confiscate several dozen of their schools to help repay creditors.

The affair coincided with a full-on intellectual assault from the Jansenists, a rival Catholic intellectual movement, secular Enlightenment thinkers, and advocates of strong French monarchical control over the Church within France's borders (Gallicanism). In 1764, the Jesuits were banned outright in France by King Louis XV (r. 1715 - 1774). Similar suppressions took place in Spain, Portugal, and most other European kingdoms until, in 1773, Pope Clement XIV (r. 1769 - 1774) dissolved the order entirely, though some local groups of Jesuits continued to operate underground, in Eastern Europe, or in the colonies. After the tumult of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, the Society was restored and reestablished throughout Europe and the world.

Publication History and Census

This work was produced in July 1763 to support the suppression of the Jesuits by the French monarchy. It is based on the original painting that was housed in Billom, but is a 'mirror image' of the painting with the unusual title 'Tipe de la Religion' that also replaces Latin text with French and makes some other minor changes such as the position and orientation of text banners. Prints based on the painting are generally credited to Jean Michel Moreau, the Younger, though it is unclear if he produced this early edition.

As mentioned above, several prints of various sizes and languages were issued based on the original painting, and all are quite rare, the earlier ones from the era before or early on in the Society's suppression in France are especially so. This is the earliest such we have found, possibly a first, but this is imposible to verify. We have only been able to locate examples of the present work at the Bibliothèque nationale de France, the Statens Museum for Kunst in Denmark, and the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.