Palace of Versailles - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Palace of Versailles

Chteau de Versailles

The interior court of the Palace of Versailles

Location within le-de-France

General information

Status Still standing

Location Versailles, France

Coordinates 48.804404N 2.123162E

Technical details

Floor area67,000 m2

Number of

windows

2,153

Number of rooms 2,300 [1]

Staircases 67

Paintings in the

museums

collection

6,123

Drawings in

museums

collection

1,500

Engravings in

museums

collection

15,034

Sculptures in

museums

collection

2,102

Pieces of furniture

and objets dart

5,210

Website

Official site of the Chateau de Versailles

(http://www.chateauversailles.fr/homepage)

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Palace of VersaillesFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Palace of Versailles (pron.: /vrsa/ vair-SY or /vrsa/ vr-SY; French: [vsj]), orsimply Versailles, is a royal chteau in Versailles in the le-de-France region of France. InFrench it is the Chteau de Versailles.

When the chteau was built, Versailles was a country village; today, however, it is awealthy suburb of Paris, some 20 kilometres southwest of the French capital. The court ofVersailles was the centre of political power in France from 1682, when Louis XIV movedfrom Paris, until the royal family was forced to return to the capital in October 1789 afterthe beginning of the French Revolution. Versailles is therefore famous not only as abuilding, but as a symbol of the system of absolute monarchy of the Ancien Rgime.

Contents

1 History1.1 The four building campaigns (16641710)1.2 Louis XV Louis XVI (17221788)

2 French Revolution (17891799)2.1 First Empire to July Monarchy (18001850)2.2 From the Second Empire (1850present)

3 Current use4 Images of Versailles5 Features of the Palace of Versailles

5.1 Grands appartements5.1.1 Grand appartement du roi5.1.2 Grand appartement de la reine

5.2 Appartement du roi (King's Private Apartments)5.3 Le petit appartement du roi5.4 Le petit appartement de la reine5.5 Galerie des Glaces (Hall of Mirrors)5.6 Chapels of Versailles5.7 LOpra5.8 Museum of the History of France

6 Gardens of Versailles7 Subsidiary structures8 Cost

8.1 Costs of restoration programmes9 War uses10 Social history

10.1 The politics of display10.2 Life at Court

11 Musical events12 In popular culture13 See also14 Notes15 Further reading16 Sources17 External links

History

Main article: History of the Palace of Versailles

The earliest mention of the name of Versailles is in a document dated 1038, relating to thevillage of Versailles. In 1575, the seigneury of Versailles was bought by Albert de Gondi, anaturalized Florentine, who invited Louis XIII on several hunting trips in the forestssurrounding Versailles. Pleased with the location, Louis ordered the construction of ahunting lodge in 1624. Eight years later, Louis obtained the seigneury of Versailles fromthe Gondi family and began to make enlargements to the chteau. This structure would

become the core of the new palace.[2] Louis XIII's successor, Louis XIV, had it expanded

into one of the largest palaces in the world.[3] Following the Treaties of Nijmegen in 1678,

Coordinates: 48.804404N 2.123162E

Palace of Versailles - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Palace_of_Versailles&printa...

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Official name: Palace and Park of Versailles

Type: Cultural

Criteria: i, ii, vi

Designated: 1979 (3rd session)

Reference No. 83 (http://whc.unesco.org

/en/list/83)

State Party: France

Region: Europe

The original hunting lodge in 1623

View of the Palace from the garden

he began to gradually move the court to Versailles.The court was officially established there on 6 May1682.[4]

After the disgrace of Nicolas Fouquet in 1661,Louis confiscated Fouquets estate and employedthe talents of Le Vau, Le Ntre, and Le Brun, whoall had worked on Fouquets grand chteauVaux-le-Vicomte, for his building campaigns atVersailles and elsewhere. For Versailles, there were

four distinct building campaigns.[5]

The four building campaigns (16641710)

The first building campaign (16641668)commenced with the Plaisirs de lle enchante (Pleasures of the Enchanted Island) of1664, a fte that was held between 7 and 13 May 1664. The first building campaign(16641668) involved alterations in the chteau and gardens to accommodate the 600guests invited to the party. (Nolhac, 1899, 1901; Marie, 1968; Verlet, 1985)

The second building campaign (16691672) was inaugurated with the signing of theTreaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, which ended the War of Devolution. During this campaign, thechteau began to assume some of the appearance that it has today. The most importantmodification of the chteau was Le Vaus envelope of Louis XIIIs hunting lodge.(Nolhac, 1901; Marie, 1972; Verlet, 1985) Significant to the design and construction ofthe grands appartements is that the rooms of both apartments are of the sameconfiguration and dimensions a hitherto unprecedented feature in French palace design.Both the grand appartement du roi and the grand appartement de la reine formed a suiteof seven enfilade rooms. The decoration of the rooms, which was conducted under Le Brun's direction, depicted the "heroic actions of theking" and were represented in allegorical form by the actions of historical figures from the antique past (Alexander the Great, Augustus,Cyrus, etc.). (Berger, 1986; Flibien, 1674; Verlet, 1985)

With the signing of the Treaty of Nijmegen in 1678, which ended the Dutch War, the third building campaign at Versailles began(16781684). Under the direction of the architect, Jules Hardouin-Mansart, the Palace of Versailles acquired much of the look that it hastoday. In addition to the Hall of Mirrors, Hardouin-Mansart designed the north and south wings and the Orangerie. Le Brun was occupied notonly with the interior decoration of the new additions of the palace, but also collaborated with Le Ntre's in landscaping the palace gardens(Berger, 1985; Thompson, 2006; Verlet, 1985).

Soon after the defeat of the War of the League of Augsburg (16881697), Louis XIV undertook his last building campaign at Versailles. Thefourth building campaign (16991710) concentrated almost exclusively on construction of the royal chapel designed by Hardouin-Mansartand finished by Robert de Cotte. There were also some modifications in the appartement du roi, namely the construction of the Salon delil de Buf and the Kings Bedchamber. With the completion of the chapel in 1710, virtually all construction at Versailles ceased; buildingwould not be resumed at Versailles until some twenty one years later during the reign of Louis XV (Nolhac, 1911; Marie, 1976, 1984; Verlet,1985).

Plans of the evolution of Versailles

The palace in 1668 The palace in 1674 The palace in 1680

Louis XV Louis XVI (17221788)

During the reign of Louis XV, Versailles underwent transformation,designed by Louis Le Vau, but not on the scale that had been seen duringthe reign of Louis XIV. The first project in 1722 was the completion of the Salon d'Hercule. Significant among Louis XVs contributions toVersailles were the petit appartement du roi; the appartements de Mesdames, the appartement du dauphin, and the appartement de ladauphine on the ground floor; and the two private apartments of Louis XV petit appartement du roi au deuxime tage (later transformedinto the appartement de Madame du Barry) and the petit appartement du roi au troisime tage on the second and third floors of the palace.The crowning achievements of Louis XVs reign were the construction of the Opra and the Petit Trianon (Verlet, 1985). Equally significantwas the destruction of the Escalier des Ambassadeurs (Ambassadors' Stair), the only fitting approach to the State Apartments, which LouisXV undertook to make way for apartments for his daughters.


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The gardens remained largely unchanged from the time of Louis XIV; the completion of the Bassin de Neptune between 1738 and 1741 wasthe only important legacy Louis XV made to the gardens (Marie 1984; Thompson, 2006; Verlet 1985). Towards the end of his reign, LouisXV, under the advice of Ange-Jacques Gabriel, began to remodel the courtyard facades of the palace. With the objective revetting theentrance of the palace with classical facades, Louis XV began a project that was continued during the reign of Louis XVI, but which did notsee completion until the 20th century (Verlet, 1985).

Gardens and palace of Versailles in 1746, by the abbot Delagrive

Much of Louis XVIs contributions to Versailles were largely dictated by the unfinished projects left to him by his grandfather. Shortly afterhis ascension, Louis XVI ordered a complete replanting of the gardens with the intention of transforming the jardins franais to anEnglish-style garden, which had become popular during the late 18th century (Verlet, 1985). In the palace, the library and the salon des jeuxin the petit appartement du roi and the decoration of the petit appartement de la reine for Marie-Antoinette are among the finest examples ofthe style Louis XVI (Verlet, 1945; 1985)

French Revolution (17891799)

On 6 October 1789, the royal family had to leave Versailles and move to the Tuileries Palace in Paris, as a result of the Women's March on

Versailles.[6] During the early years of the French Revolution, preservation of the palace was largely in the hands of the citizens of Versailles.In October 1790, Louis XVI ordered the palace to be emptied of its furniture, requesting that most be sent to the Tuileries Palace. In responseto the order, the mayor of Versailles and the municipal council met to draft a letter to Louis XVI in which they stated that if the furniture was

removed, it would certainly precipitate economic ruin on the city (Gatin, 1908).[7] A deputation from Versailles met with the king on 12October after which Louis XVI, touched by the sentiments of the residents of Versailles, rescinded the order. However, eight months later, thefate of Versailles was sealed.

On 21 June 1791, Louis XVI was arrested at Varennes after which the Assemble nationale constituante accordingly declared that allpossessions of the royal family had been abandoned. To safeguard the palace, the Assemble nationale constituante ordered the palace ofVersailles to be sealed. On 20 October 1792 a letter was read before the National Convention in which Jean-Marie Roland de la Platire,interior minister, proposed that the furnishings of the palace and those of the residences in Versailles that had been abandoned be sold andthat the palace be either sold or rented. The sale of furniture transpired at auctions held between 23 August 1793 and 30 nivse an III (19January 1795). Only items of particular artistic or intellectual merit were exempt from the sale. These items were consigned to be part of thecollection of a museum, which had been planned at the time of the sale of the palace furnishings.

In 1793, Charles-Franois Delacroix deputy to the Convention and father of the painter Eugne Delacroix proposed that the metal statuary inthe gardens of Versailles be confiscated and sent to the foundry to be made into cannon (Gatin, 1908). The proposal was debated buteventually it was tabled. On 28 floral an II (5 May 1794) the Convention decreed that the chteau and gardens of Versailles, as well as otherformer royal residences in the environs, would not be sold but placed under the care of the Republic for the public good (Fromegot, 1903).Following this decree, the chteau became a repository for art work seized from churches and princely homes. As a result of Versaillesserving as a repository for confiscated art works, collections were amassed that eventually became part of the proposed museum (Fromegot,1903).

Among the items found at Versailles at this time a collection of natural curiosities that has been assembled by the sieur Fayolle during hisvoyages in America. The collection was sold to the comte dArtois and was later confiscated by the state. Fayolle, who had been nominatedto the Commission des arts, became guardian of the collection and was later, in June 1794, nominated by the Convention to be the firstdirecteur du Conservatoire du Musum national de Versailles (Fromageot, 1903). The next year, Andr Dumont the people's representative,became administrator for the department of the Seine-et-Oise. Upon assuming his administrative duties, Dumont was struck with thedeplorable state into which the palace and gardens had sunk. He quickly assumed administrative duties of the chteau and assembled a teamof conservators to oversee the various collections of the museum (Fromageot, 1903).

One of Dumonts first appointments was that of Huges Lagarde (10 messidor an III (28 June 1795), a wealthy soap merchant from Marseillewith strong political connections, as bibliographer of the museum. With the abandonment of the palace, there remained no less than 104libraries which contained in excess of 200,000 printed volumes and manuscripts. Lagarde, with his political connections and his associationwith Dumont, became the driving force behind Versailles as a museum at this time. Lagarde was able to assemble a team of curatorsincluding sieur Fayolle for natural history and, Louis Jean-Jacques Durameau, the painter responsible for the ceiling painting in the Opra,was appointed as curator for painting (Fromageot, 1903).

Owing largely to political vicissitudes that occurred in France during the 1790s, Versailles succumbed to further degradations. Mirrors wereassigned by the finance ministry for payment of debts of the Republic and draperies, upholstery, and fringes were confiscated and sent to themint to recoup the gold and silver used in their manufacture. Despite its designation as a museum, Versailles served as an annex to the Hteldes Invalides pursuant to the decree of 7 frimaire an VIII (28 November 1799), which commandeered part of the palace and which had


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The Grand Trianon Castle in Summer

The Grand Trianon Castle Interiors

Louis-Philippe opening the Galerie

des Batailles, 10 June 1837 (painted

by Franois-Joseph Heim)

wounded soldiers being housed in the petit appartement du roi (Gatin, 1908)

In 1797, the Musum national was reorganised and renamed Muse spcial de lcole franaise (Dutilleux, 1887). The grands appartementswere used as galleries in which the morceaux de rception submitted by artists seeking admission to the Acadmie royale de peinture et desculpture during the 17th and 18th centuries, the series The Life of Saint Bruno by Eustache Le Sueur and the Life of Marie de Mdicis byPeter Paul Rubens were placed on display. The museum, which included the sculptures in the garden, became the finest museum of classicFrench art that had existed (Verlet, 1985).

First Empire to July Monarchy (18001850)

With the advent of Napolon and the First Empire, the status of Versailles changed. Paintings and art work that had previously been assignedto Musum national and the Muse spcial de lcole franaise were systematically dispersed to other locations and eventually the museumwas closed. In accordance to provisions of the 1804 Constitution, Versailles was designated as an imperial palace for the department of the

Seine-et-Oise.[8]

While Napolon did not reside in the chteau, apartments were, however, arranged and decorated forthe use of the empress Marie-Louise. The emperor chose to reside at the Grand Trianon.

The chteau continued to serve, however, as an annex of the Htel des Invalides (Mauguin,19401942; Pradel, 1937; Verlet, 1985). Nevertheless, on 3 January 1805, Pope Pius VII, who cameto France to officiate at Napolon's coronation, visited the palace and blessed the throng of peoplegathered on the parterre d'eau from the balcony of the Hall of Mirrors (Mauguin, 19401942).

The Bourbon Restoration saw little activity at Versailles. Areas of the gardens were replanted but nosignificant restoration and modifications of the interiors were undertaken, despite the fact that LouisXVIII would often visit the palace and walk through the vacant rooms (Manse, 2004; Thompson,2006). Charles X chose the Tuileries Palace over Versailles and rarely visited his former home(Castelot, 2001).

With the Revolution of 1830 and the establishment of the July Monarchy, the status of Versailleschanged. In March 1832, the Loi de la Liste civile was promulgated, which designated Versailles as acrown dependency. Like Napolon before him, Louis-Philippe chose to live at the Grand Trianon;however, unlike Napolon, Louis-Philippe did have a grand design for Versailles.

In 1833, Louis-Philippe proposed the establishment of a museum dedicated to all the glories ofFrance, which included the Orlans dynasty and the Revolution of 1830 that put Louis-Philippe onthe throne of France. For the next decade, under the direction of Eugne-Charles-Frdric Nepveu andPierre-Franois-Lonard Fontaine, the chteau underwent irreversible alterations (Constans, 1985;1987; Mauguin, 1937; Verlet, 1985). The museum was officially inaugurated on 10 June 1837 as partof the festivities that surrounded the marriage of the Prince royal, Ferdinand-Philippe dOrlans withprincess Hlne of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and represented one of the most ambitious and costlyundertakings of Louis-Philippes reign. Over, the emperor at the kings home Napolon at LouisXIVs; in a word, it is having given to this magnificent book that is called French history thismagnificent binding that is called Versailles (Victor Hugo).[9]

The aile du Midi, was given over to the galerie des Balles, which necessitated the demolition of mostof the apartments of the Princes of the Blood who lived in this part of the palace during the AncienRgime. The galerie des Batailles was an epigone of the Grande galerie of the Louvre Palace and wasintended to glorify French military history from the Battle of Tolbiac (traditionally dated 495) to theBattle of Wagram (56 July 1809). While a number of the paintings displayed in the galerie desBatailles were of questionable quality, a few masterpieces, such as the Battle of Taillebourg by Eugne Delacroix, were displayed here. Partof the aile du Nord was converted for the Salle des Croisades, a room dedicated to famous knights of the Crusades and decorated with theirnames and coats of arms. The apartments of the dauphin and the dauphine as well as those of Louis XVs daughters on the ground floor of thecorps de logis were transformed into portrait galleries. To accommodate the displays, some of the boiseries were removed and either put intostorage or sold. During the Prussian occupation of the palace in 1871, the boiseries in storage were burned as firewood (Constans, 1985;1987; Mauguin, 1937; Verlet,1985).

From the Second Empire (1850present)

Pierre de Nolhac arrived at the Palace of Versailles in 1887 and was appointed curator of the museum in 1892.[10] Nolhac began to restore the

palace to its appearance before the Revolution.[11] Nolhac also organized events aimed at raising the awareness of potential donors to thePalace. The development of private donations led to the creation of the Friends of Versailles in June 1907.

Under the aegis of Grald van der Kemp, chief conservator of the museum from 1952 to 1980, the Palace witnessed some of its mostambitious conservation and restoration projects: new roofing for the galerie des glaces; restoration of the chambre de la reine; restoration ofthe chambre de Louis XIV; restoration of the Opra (Lemoine, 1976). At this time, the ground floor of the aile du Nord was converted into agallery of French history from the 17th century to the 19th century. (Kemp, 1976; Meyer, 1985)

Current use


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Gardens and palace of Versailles

in the 1920s.

The Fifth Republic has enthusiastically promoted the museum as one of Frances foremost touristattractions (Opperman, 2004). The palace, however, still serves political functions. Heads of state areregaled in the Hall of Mirrors; the Snat and the Assemble nationale meet in congress in Versailles torevise or otherwise amend the French Constitution, a tradition that came into effect with thepromulgation of the 1875 Constitution.[12] Public establishment of the museum and Chteau de Versailles

Spectacles recently organised the Jeff Koons Versailles exhibition.[13]

Images of Versailles

Views of the Palace of Versailles

Panoramic view from the park

View of Versailles from theAvenue de Paris, ca. 1662 byPierre Patel. This was how

Versailles looked before LouisXIV began enlarging the

chteau.

Garden faade of the Palace ofVersailles, ca. 1675. Shown is

the terrace that was later tobecome part of the Hall of

Mirrors.

Louis XIV's third buildingcampaign resulted in the

construction of the Hall ofMirrors.

View of the Chteau deVersailles as seen from thePlace dArmes, 1722, ca.

1722, by Pierre-Denis Martin.This was how Versailles

looked at the end of LouisXIVs fourth building

campaign.

Proclamation of the German Empire, 18January 1871, 1877 by Anton von Werner.

The Signing of Peace in the Hall ofMirrors, Versailles, 28 June 1919 by Sir

William Orpen, KBE.

Salle du Sacre with a view toward Salledes Gardes de la Reine in the Grand

Appartement of the queen.

Features of the Palace of Versailles


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Grands appartements

As a result of Le Vaus enveloppe of Louis XIIIs chteau, the king and the queen had new apartments in the new addition, known at the timeas the chteau neuf. The grands appartements, which are known respectively as the grand appartement du roi and the grand appartement dela reine, occupied the main or principal floor of the chteau neuf. Le Vaus design for the state apartments closely followed Italian models ofthe day, as evidenced by the placement of the apartments on the next floor up from the ground level the piano nobile a convention thearchitect borrowed from 16th and 17th century Italian palace design (Berger, 1986; Verlet, 1985).

Grand appartement du roi

Le Vaus plan called for an enfilade of seven rooms, each dedicated to one of the then known planets and their associated titular Roman deity.Le Vaus plan was bold as he designed a heliocentric system that centred on the Salon of Apollo. The salon dApollon originally wasdesigned as the kings bedchamber, but served as a throne room. During the reign of Louis XIV (until 1689), a solid silver throne stood on aPersian carpet covered dais on the south wall of this room (Berger, 1986; Dangeau, 18541860; Josephson, 1926; 1930; Verlet, 1985).

The original arrangement of the enfilade of rooms was:

Salon de Diane (Diana, Roman goddess of the hunt; associated with the Moon)[14]

Salon de Mars (Mars, Roman god of war; associated with the planet Mars)Salon de Mercure (Mercury, Roman god of trade, commerce, and the Liberal Arts; associated with the planet Mercury)Salon dApollon (Apollo, Roman god of the Fine Arts; associated with the Sun)Salon de Jupiter (Jupiter, Roman god of law and order; associated with the planet Jupiter)Salon de Saturne (Saturn, Roman god of agriculture and harvest; associated with the planet Saturn)Salon de Vnus (Venus, Roman goddess of love and beauty; associated with the planet Venus)

The configuration of the grand appartement du roi conformed to contemporary conventions in palace design (Baillie, 1967). However, owingto Louis XIVs personal taste and with the apartments northern exposure, Louis XIV found the rooms too cold and opted to live in the roomspreviously occupied by his father. The grand appartement du roi was reserved for court functions such as the thrice-weekly appartementevenings given by Louis XIV for members of the court (Berger, 1986; La Varende, 1959; Marie, 1968, 1972; Nolhac, 1911; Verlet, 1985).

The rooms were decorated by Le Brun and demonstrated Italian influences, particularly that of Pietro da Cortona, with whom Le Brunstudied while he was in Florence. Le Brun was influenced by the decorative style da Cortona devised for the decoration of the Pitti Palace inFlorence, which influenced his style Louis XIV at Versailles. The quadratura style of the ceilings evoke Pietro Cortonas Sale dei Planeti atthe Pitti, but Le Bruns decorative schema is more complex (Blunt, 1980; Campbell, 1977). In his 1674 publication about the grandappartement du roi, Andr Flibien described the scenes depicted in the coves of the ceilings of the rooms as allegories depicting the heroicactions of the king (Flibien, 1674). Accordingly, one finds scenes of the exploits of Augustus, Alexander the Great, and Cyrus alluding tothe deeds of Louis XIV (Lighthart, 1997; Sabatier, 1999). For example, in the salon dApollon, the cove painting Augustus building the port

of Misenum[15] alludes to the construction of the port at La Rochelle; or, depicted in the south cove of the salon de Mercure is Ptolemy IIPhiladelphus in his Library, which alludes to Ptolemys construction of the Great Library of Alexandria and which accordingly serves as an

allegory to Louis XIVs expansion of the Bibliothque du roi.[16] Complementing the rooms decors were pieces of massive silver furniture.Regrettably, owing to the War of the League of Augsburg, in 1689 Louis XIV ordered all of this silver furniture to be sent to the mint, to bemelted down to help defray the cost of the war (Berger, 1986; Dangeau, 18541860; Josephson, 1926; 1930; Marie, 1968, 1972, 1976;Nolhac, 1911; Verlet, 1985).

Le Vaus original plan for the grand appartement du roi was short-lived. With the inauguration of the third building campaign, whichsuppressed the terrace linking the apartments of the king and queen, the salon de Jupiter, the salon de Saturne, and the salon de Vnus for theconstruction of the Hall of Mirrors, the configuration of the grand appartement du roi was altered. The decorative elements of the salon deJupiter was removed and reused in the decoration of the salle des gardes de la reine; and elements of the decoration of the first salon de

Vnus, which opened onto the terrace, were reused in the salon de Vnus that we see today[17] (Marie, 1972, 1976; Nolhac, 1925; Verlet,1985).

From 1678 to the end of Louis XIVs reign, the grand appartement du roi served as the venue for the kings thrice-weekly eveningreceptions, known as les soires de lappartement. For these parties, the rooms assumed specific functions:

Salon de Vnus: buffet tables were arranged to display food and drink for the kings guests.Salon de Diane: served as a billiard room.Salon de Mars: served as a ballroom.Salon de Mercure: served as a gaming (cards) room.Salon dApollon: served as a concert or music room.

In the 18th century during the reign of Louis XV, the grand appartement du roi was expanded to include the salon de lAbondance (Hall ofPlenty) formerly the entry vestibule of the petit appartement du roi and the salon d'Hercule occupying the tribune level of the formerchapel of the palace (Verlet, 1985).

Grand appartement de la reine

Forming a parallel enfilade with that of the grand appartement du roi, the grand appartement de la reine served as the residence of threequeens of France Marie-Thrse dAutriche, wife of Louis XIV, Marie Leczinska, wife of Louis XV, and Marie-Antoinette, wife of LouisXVI. Additionally, Louis XIV's granddaughter-in-law, Princess Marie-Adlade of Savoy, as duchesse de Bourgogne, occupied these rooms


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The Queen's bedchamber. There is a barely

discernible 'hidden door'

(http://www.flickr.com/photos/mymuk

/4186000704/) in the corner near the

jewel cabinet by Schwerdfeger (1787)

through which Marie Antoinette escaped

the night of 5/6 October 1789 when the

Paris mob stormed Versailles.

from 1697 (the year of her marriage) to her death in 1712.[18]

When Le Vaus enveloppe of the chteau vieux was completed, the grand appartement de la reinecame to include a suite of seven enfilade rooms with an arrangement that mirrored almost exactlythe grand appartement du roi. The configuration was:

Chapel which was pendant with the salon de Diane in the grand appartement du roi[19]

Salle de gardes which was pendant with the salon de Mars in the grand appartement duroiAntichambre which was pendant with the salon de Mercure in the grand appartement duroiChambre which was pendant with the salon dApollon in the grand appartement du roiGrand cabinet which was pendant with the salon de Jupiter in the grand appartement duroiOratory which was pendant with the salon de Saturne in the grand appartement du roiPetit cabinet which was pendant with the salon de Vnus in the grand appartement du

roi[20]

As with the decoration of the ceiling in the grand appartement du roi, which depicted the heroicactions of Louis XIV as allegories from events taken from the antique past, the decoration of thegrand appartement de la reine likewise depicted heroines from the antique past and harmonized with the general theme of a particular rooms

decor.[21]

With the construction of the Hall of Mirrors, which began in 1678, the configuration of the grand appartement de la reine changed. Thechapel was transformed into the salle des gardes de la reine and it was in this room that the decorations from the salon de Jupiter werereused.[22] The salle des gardes de la reine communicates with a loggia that issues from the escalier de la reine, which formed a parallelpendant (albeit a smaller, though similarly-decorated example) with the escalier des ambassadeurs in the grand appartement du roi. Theloggia also provided access to the appartement du roi, the suite of rooms in which Louis XIV lived, and to the apartment of Madame deMaintenon. Toward the end of Louis XIV's reign, the escalier de la reine became the principal entrance to the chteau, with the escalier desambassadeurs used on rare state occasions. After the demolition of the escalier des ambassadeurs in 1752, the escalier de la reine becamethe main entrance to the chteau (Verlet, 1985).

From 1682, the grand appartement de la reine included:

Salle des gardes de la reineAntichambre (formerly the salle des gardes)Grand cabinetChambre de la reine

With the death of Louis XIV in 1715, the court moved to Vincennes and shortly after to Paris. In 1722, Louis XV reinstalled the court atVersailles and began modifications to the chteaus interior. Among the most noteworthy of the building projects during Louis XVs reign,the redecoration of the chamber de la reine must be cited.

To commemorate the birth of Louis in 1729, Louis XV ordered a complete redecoration of the room. Elements of the chamber de la reine as

it had been used by Marie-Thrse dAutriche and Marie-Adlade de Savoie were removed and a new, more modern decor was installed[23]

(Marie, 1984; Reynaud and Villain, 1970; Verlet, 1985).

During her life at Versailles, Marie Leszczynska lived in the grand appartement de la reine, to which she annexed the Salon of Peace to serveas a music room. In 1770, when the Austrian archduchess Maria Antonia married the dauphin, later king Louis XVI, she took up residence inthese rooms. Upon Louis XVIs ascension to the throne in 1774, Marie-Antoinette ordered major redecoration of the grand appartement de lareine. At this time, the queens apartment achieved the arrangement that we see today (Verlet, 1985).

Salle des gardes de la reine this room remained virtually unchanged by Marie-Antoinette.[24]

Antichambre this room was transformed into the antichambre du grand couvert. It was in this room that the king, queen, andmembers of the royal family dined in public. Occasionally, this room served as a theater for the chteau.Grand cabinet this room was transformed into the salon des nobles. Following the tradition established by her predecessor, Marie-Antoinette would hold formal audiences in this room. When not used for formal audiences, the salon des nobles served as anantechamber to the queens bedroom.Chambre de la reine this room was used as the queens bedroom, and was of exceptional splendor. On the night of 6/7 October 1789,Marie-Antoinette fled from the Paris mob by escaping through a 'hidden door' (http://www.flickr.com/photos/mymuk/4186000704/)into a private corridor connecting her apartment with that of the king.

Appartement du roi (King's Private Apartments)

Main article: Appartement du roi

The appartement du roi is a suite of rooms set aside for the private use of the king. Originally arranged and used by Louis XIV in 1683, theserooms were used by his successors, Louis XV and Louis XVI for such ceremonies as the lever and the coucher.


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The Hall of Mirrors.

The Orangerie of Versailles

Le petit appartement du roi

Main article: Petit appartement du roi

The petit appartement du roi is a suite of rooms that were reserved for the private use of the king. Occupying the site on which rooms wereoriginally arranged for Louis XIII on the first floor of the chteau, the space was radically modified by Louis XIV. His successors, Louis XVand Louis XVI drastically modified and remodeled these rooms for their personal use.

Le petit appartement de la reine

Main article: Petit appartement de la reine

The petit appartement de la reine is a suite of rooms that were reserved for the personal use of the queen. Originally arranged for the use ofthe Marie-Thrse, consort of Louis XIV, the rooms were later modified for use by Marie Leszczyska and finally for Marie-Antoinette.

Galerie des Glaces (Hall of Mirrors)

Main article: Hall of Mirrors

The galerie des glaces (Hall of Mirrors in English), is perhaps the most celebrated room in thechteau of Versailles. Setting for many of the ceremonies of the French Court during the AncienRgime, the galerie des glaces has also inspired numerous copies and renditions throughout theworld.

The room was built 15 June in 1690.

Chapels of Versailles

Main article: Chapels of Versailles

In the evolution of the chteau of Versailles, there have been five chapels. The current chapel,which was the last major building project of Louis XIV, represents one of the finest examples of French Baroque architecture andecclesiastical decoration.

LOpra

Main article: l'Opra of the Palace of Versailles

L'Opra was perhaps the most ambitious building project of Louis XV for the chteau of Versailles. Completed in 1770, the Opra wasinaugurated as part of the wedding festivities of Louis XV's grandson, later Louis XVI, and Marie-Antoinette.

Museum of the History of France

In the 19th century the Museum of the History of France was founded in Versailles, at the behest of Louis-Philippe I, who ascended to thethrone in 1830. Many of the palaces rooms were taken over to house the new collections and the large Galerie des Batailles (Hall of theBattles) was created to display paintings and sculptures depicting milestones battles of French history. The collections display painted,sculpted, drawn and engraved images illustrating events or personalities of the history of France since its inception. The museum occupiesthe lateral wings of the Palace. Most of the paintings date back to the 19th century and have been created specially for the museum by majorpainters of the time such as Delacroix, Horace Vernet or Franois Grard but there are also much older artworks which retrace FrenchHistory. Notably the museum displays works by Philippe de Champaigne, Pierre Mignard, Laurent de La Hyre, Charles Le Brun, Adam Fransvan der Meulen, Nicolas de Largillire, Hyacinthe Rigaud, Jean Antoine Houdon, Jean Marc Nattier, Elisabeth Vige Le Brun, HubertRobert, Thomas Lawrence, Jacques Louis David, Antoine Jean Gros and also Pierre Auguste Renoir.

Gardens of Versailles

Main article: Gardens of Versailles

Evolving with the chteau, the gardens of Versailles represent one of the finest extant examples ofGarden la franaise in French Garden design.

Subsidiary structures

Main article: Subsidiary structures of the Palace of Versailles

Located in close proximity to the chteau, these smaller structures served the needs of members of theroyal family and court officials during the Ancien Rgime.

Cost


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Louis XIV visits the

Gobelins with Colbert, 15

October 1667. Tapestry from

the series, "Histoire du roi"

designed by Charles Le Brun

and woven between 1667

and 1672. Articles of Louis

XIV's silver furniture are

seen in this tapestry.

One of the most baffling aspects to the study of Versailles is the cost how much Louis XIV and his successors spent on Versailles. Owing tothe nature of the construction of Versailles and the evolution of the role of the palace, construction costs were essentially a private matter.Initially, Versailles was planned to be an occasional residence for Louis XIV and was referred to as the "king's house" (La Varende, 1959).Accordingly, much of the early funding for construction came from the king's own purse, funded by revenues received from his appanage aswell as revenues from the province of New France (Canada), which, while part of France, was a private possession of the king and thereforeexempt from the control of the Parliaments (Bluche, 1986; 1991; Chouquette, 1997).

Once Louis XIV embarked on his building campaigns, expenses for Versailles became more of a matter for public record, especially afterJean-Baptiste Colbert assumed the post of finance minister. Expenditures on Versailles have been recorded in the compendium known as theComptes des btiments du roi sous le rgne de Louis XIV and which was edited and published in five volumes by Jules Guiffrey in the 19thcentury. These volumes provide valuable archival material pursuant to the financial expenditures of all aspects of Versailles from thepayments dispersed to artists to mole catchers (Guiffrey, 18801890).

To counter the costs of Versailles during the early years of Louis XIV's personal reign, Colbert decided that Versailles should be the"showcase" of France (Bluche, 1991). Accordingly, all materials that went into the construction and decoration of Versailles weremanufactured in France. Even the mirrors used in the decoration of the Hall of Mirrors were made in France. While Venice in the 17thcentury had the monopoly on the manufacture of mirrors, Colbert succeeded in enticing a number of artisans from Venice to make the mirrorsfor Versailles. However, owing to Venetian proprietary claims on the technology of mirror manufacture, the Venetian government ordered theassassination of the artisans to keep the secrets proprietary to the Venetian Republic (Bluche, 1991). To meet the demands for decorating andfurnishing Versailles, Colbert nationalised the tapestry factory owned by the Gobelin family, to become the Manufacture royale des Gobelins(Bluche, 1991).

In 1667, the name of the enterprise was changed to the Manufacture royale des Meubles de la Couronne. TheGobelins were charged with all decoration needs of the palace, which was under the direction of Charles LeBrun (Bluche, 1991).

One of the most costly elements in the furnishing of the Grands appartements during the early years of thepersonal reign of Louis XIV was the silver furniture, which can be taken as a standard with other criteria for determining a plausible cost for Versailles. The Comptes meticulously list the expenditures on the silverfurniture disbursements to artists, final payments, delivery as well as descriptions and weight of itemspurchased. Entries for 1681 and 1682 concerning the silver balustrade used in the salon de Mercure serve asan example:

Year 1681

II. 5 In anticipation: For the silver balustrade for the king's bedroom: 90,000 livresII. 7 18 November to Sieur du Metz, 43,475 livres 5 sols for delivery to Sr. Lois and to Sr. de Villers forpayment of 142,196 livres for the silver balustrade that they are making for the king's bedroom and 404 livresfor tax: 48,861 livres 5 sol.II. 15 16 June 1681 23 January 1682 to Sr. Lois and Sr. de Villers silversmiths on account for the silverbalustrade that they are making for the king's use (four payments): 88,457 livres 5 sols.II. 111 25 March 18 April to Sr. Lois and Sr. de Villers silversmiths who are working on a silver balustradefor the king, for continued work (two payments): 40,000 livres

Year 1682

II. 129 21 March to Sr. Jehannot de Bartillay 4,970 livres 12 sols for the delivery to Sr. Lois and de Villers silversmiths for, with 136,457livres 5 sol to one and 25,739 livres 10 sols to another, making the 38 balusters, 17 pilasters, the base and the cornice for the balustrade for

the chteau of Versailles weighing 4,076 marc at the rate of 41 livres the marc[25] including 41 livres 2 sols for tax: 4,970 livres 12 sols(Guiffrey, 18801890).

Accordingly, the silver balustrade, which contained in excess of one ton of silver, cost in excess of 560,000 livres. It is difficult if not

impossible to give an accurate rate of exchange between 1682/82 and today.[26] However, Frances Buckland provides valuable informationthat provides an idea of the true cost of the expenditures at Versailles during the time of Louis XIV. In 1679, Mme de Maintenon stated thatthe cost of providing light and food for twelve people for one day amounted to slightly more than 14 livres (Buckland, 1983). In December,1689, to defray the cost of the War of the League of Augsburg, Louis XIV ordered all the silver furniture and articles of silver at Versaillesincluding chamber potssent to the mint to be melted (Dangeau, 18541860).

Clearly, the silver furniture alone represented a significant outlay in the finances of Versailles. While the decoration of the palace was costly,certain other costs were minimised. For example, labour for construction was often low, due largely to the fact that the army during times ofpeace and during the winter, when wars were not waged, was pressed into action at Versailles. Additionally, given the quality and uniquenessof the items produced at the Gobelins for use and display at Versailles, the palace served as a venue to showcase not only the success ofColbert's mercantilism, but also to display the finest that France could produce (Bluche, 1986, 1991).

Costs of restoration programmes

The restoration initiatives launched by the Fifth Republic have proven to be perhaps more costly than the expenditures of the palace in theAncien Rgime. Starting in the 1950s, when the museum of Versailles was under the directorship of Grald van der Kemp, the objective wasto restore the palace to its state or as close to it as possible in 1789 when the royal family left the palace. Among the early projects wasthe repair of the roof over the Hall of Mirrors; the publicity campaign brought international attention to the plight of post-war Versailles and


9 of 14 11-04-2013 PM 07:21

garnered much foreign money including a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation. Concurrently, in Russia, the restoration of the PavlovskPalace located outside of Leningrad today's Saint Petersburg brought the attention of French museum authorities, including the curators ofVersailles (Massie, 1990).

Pavlovsk Palace was built by Catherine the Greats son Paul. The czarevitch and his wife, Marie Feodorovna, were avid francophiles, who,on a visit to France and Versailles in the 1780s, purchased great quantities of silk, which they later used to upholster furniture in Pavlosk. Thepalace survived the Russian Revolution intact descendants of Paul I were living in the palace at the time the communists evicted them however, during the Second World War, the furniture and artifacts housed in the palace, which had been transformed into a museum, wereremoved. In the process of evacuation the museum collections, remnants of the silks purchased by Paul I of Russia and Marie Feodorovnawere found and conserved. After the war when Soviet authorities were restoring the palace, which had been gutted by the retreating Naziforces, they recreated the silk fabrics by using the conserved 18th century remnants (Massie, 1990).

When the French authorities saw the results of Russian efforts and the high quality they were able to achieve, the French revived18th-century weaving techniques so as to reproduce the silks used in the decoration of Versailles (Massie, 1990). The two greatestachievements of this initiative are seen today in wall hangings used in the restoration of the chambre de la reine in the grand appartement dereine and the chambre du roi in the appartement du roi. While the design used for the chambre du roi was, in fact, from a design that hadbeen used during the Ancien Rgime to decorate the chambre de la reine, it nevertheless represents a great achievement in the on-goingrestoration at Versailles. Additionally, this project, which took over seven years to achieve, required several hundred kilograms of silver andgold to complete (Meyer, 1989). One of the more costly endeavors for the museum and the government of France's Fifth Republic has beento repurchase as much of the original furnishings as possible. However, because furniture with a royal provenance and especially furniturethat was made for Versailles is a highly sought after commodity on the international market, the museum has spent considerable funds onretrieving much of the palace's original furnishings (Kemp, 1976).

In 2003, a new restoration initiative the "Grand Versailles" project was started, which necessitated unexpected repair and replantation ofthe gardens. The project will be on-going for the next seventeen years, funded with a state endowment of 135 million allocated for the firstseven years. The project will address such concerns as security for the palace, and continued restoration of the bosquet des trois fontaines.VINCI underwrote the 12 million restoration project for the Hall of Mirrors, which was completed in 2006 (Leloup, 2006).

We may never know the true amount spent on the creation of Versailles, and most current estimates are speculative. A recent estimate hasplaced the amount spent on Versailles during the Ancien rgime as US$2 billion (Littell, 2000). This figure in all probability is an under-evaluation of the money spent on Versailles. France's Fifth Republic expenditures alone that have been directed to restoration andmaintenance at Versailles undoubtedly surpass those of the Sun King.

War uses

After the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, with the Siege of Paris dragging on, the palace was the main headquarters of the Prussianarmy from 5 October 1870 until 13 March 1871. On 18 January 1871, Prussian King Wilhelm I was proclaimed German Emperor in the Hallof Mirrors, and the German Empire was founded.[27]

After the First World War, it was the site of the opening of the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, also on 18 January. Germany was blamed forcausing the First World War in the Treaty of Versailles, which was signed in the same room on 28 June 1919.

The ravages of war and neglect over the centuries have left their mark on the palace and its park. Modern French governments of thepost-World War II era have sought to repair these damages. They have on the whole been successful, but some of the more costly items, suchas the vast array of fountains, have yet to be put back completely in service. As spectacular as they might seem now, they were even moreextensive in the 18th century. The 18th-century waterworks at Marly the Machine de Marly that fed the fountains was possibly thebiggest mechanical system of its time. The water came in from afar on monumental stone aqueduct which have long ago fallen in disrepair orbeen torn down. Some aqueducts were never completed for want of resources or due to the exigencies of war. The search for sufficientsupplies of water was never fully realised even during the apogee of Versailles' glory as the seat of government, as the fountains could not be

operated together satisfactorily for any significant periods of time.[citation needed]

Social history

The politics of display

Versailles became the home of the French nobility and the location of the royal court thus becoming the centre of French government.Louis XIV himself lived there, and symbolically the central room of the long extensive symmetrical range of buildings was the King'sBedchamber (La Chambre du Roi), which itself was centred on the lavish and symbolic state bed, set behind a rich railing not unlike a

communion rail.[citation needed] Indeed, even the principal axis of the gardens themselves was conceived to radiate from this fulcrum. All thepower of France emanated from this centre: there were government offices here; as well as the homes of thousands of courtiers, their retinues

and all the attendant functionaries of court.[citation needed] By requiring that nobles of a certain rank and position spend time each year atVersailles, Louis prevented them from developing their own regional power at the expense of his own, and kept them from countering his

efforts to centralize the French government in an absolute monarchy.[citation needed]

At various periods before Louis XIV established absolute rule, France, like the Holy Roman Empire lacked central authority and was not the

unified state it was to become during subsequent centuries.[citation needed] During the Middle Ages some local nobles were often morepowerful than the French King and, although technically loyal to the King, they possessed their own provincial seats of power andgovernment, culturally influential courts and armies loyal to them and not the King, and the right to levy their own taxes on their subjects.


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Reception of the Grand Cond at Versailles

following his victory at Seneffe. Cond advances

towards Louis XIV in a respectful manner with

laurel wreaths on his path, while captured enemy

flags are displayed on both sides of the stairs. It

marked the end of Cond's exile, following his

participation to the Fronde.

Carnival versions of Louis XIV and

Marie-Antoinette in front of

Versailles Palace

[citation needed] Some families were so powerful, they achieved international prominenceand contracted marriage alliances with foreign royal houses to further their own political

ambitions.[citation needed] Although nominally Kings of France, de facto royal power had

at times been limited purely to the region around Paris.[citation needed]

Life at Court

Life at Versailles was intrinsically determined by position, favour and above all one'sbirth. The Chateau was a sprawling cluster of lodgings for which courtiers vied andmanipulated. Today, many people see Versailles as unparalleled in its magnificence andsplendour; yet few know of the actual living conditions many of Versailles augustresidents had to endure. Modern historians have, on more than one occasion, comparedthe palace to a vast apartment block. Apart from the royal family, the majority of theresidents were senior members of the household.

On each floor, living units of varying size, some 350 in all, were arranged along tiledcorridors and given a number. Each door had a key, which was to be handed in when thelodging was vacated. Many courtiers would trade lodgings and group together with theirallies, families or friends. The Noailles family took over so much of the Southern Wing'sattic that the corridor leading to all the lodgings on that floor was nicknamed "NoaillesRoad" by courtiers of the time.

Rank and status dictated everything in Versailles; not least among that list was one's lodgings. Louis XIV envisaged Versailles as a seat for allthe Bourbons, as well as his troublesome nobles. These nobles were, so to say, placed within a "gilded cage" (Duc de Saint-Simon). Luxuryand opulence was not always in the description given to their residences. Many nobles had to make do with one or two room apartments,forcing many nobles to buy town-houses in Versailles proper and keeping their palace rooms for changes of clothes or entertaining guests,rarely sleeping there. Rooms at Versailles were immensely useful for an ambitious courtier as they allowed palace residents easy and constantaccess to the monarch, essential to their ambitions, and gave them constant access to the latest gossip and news.

The smell at Versailles was said to be "unique out of all the palaces in Europe" (duc Saint-Simon). There were no functioning toilets until1768. By the time of the French Revolution in 1789 there were only 9, and those belonged to the King and his closest family members. Therest of the palace simply had to live with the constant smell of the privy-chambers clinging to their clothes, apartments and the generalatmosphere. Although banned, chamber pots were constantly emptied out of the nearest window.

Musical events

Versailles has held several musical events in modern era.

On 2122 June 1988, its courtyard played host to Pink Floyd during their A Momentary Lapse ofReason Tour, which was filmed. Footage from the show was used on the Delicate Sound of Thundervideo.

Tina Turner played here in 1990 during her Foreign Affair Tour.

On 2 July 2005, the French Live 8 was held in the courtyard of Versailles.

On 29 June 2007, Air played a show at the Palace while on their Pocket Symphony Tour.

In popular culture

Main article: List of films shot at the Palace of Versailles

Singer-songwriter Al Stewart released a song entitled "The Palace of Versailles", a song detailing theFrench Revolution, The Terror, and the military coup of Napolon Bonaparte, from the perspective of"the lonely Palace of Versailles".

See also

Buildings inspired by VersaillesBureau du RoiChteaux of the Loire Valleytablissement public du chteau, du muse et du domaine national de VersaillesFrench Baroque and ClassicismFrench Rococo and NeoclassicismPotager du roi (English: Kitchen Garden of the King)Subsidiary structures of the Palace of VersaillesThe city of VersaillesTennis Court Oath (French: serment du jeu de paume) in the Saint-Louis district


11 of 14 11-04-2013 PM 07:21

Versailles Cathedral

Notes

^ Official site of the Palace of Versailles

(http://www.chateauversailles.fr/chateau)

1.

^ "The Splendors of Versailles-Teachers' Guide Supplement"

(http://splendors-versailles.org/TeachersGuide/Building/index.html)

. Splendors-versailles.org. Retrieved 22 May 2012.

2.

^ Weil, Ann (2012). The World's Most Amazing Palaces

(http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=3xBydnc5R8EC&

pg=PT8#v=onepage&q&f=false) . Raintree. p. 8. Retrieved 9 April

2012.

3.

^ Robert W. Berger, Thomas F. Hedin (29 Aug 2008). Diplomatic

Tours in the Gardens of Versailles Under Louis XIV

(http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Z2CTyoG9UtwC&

pg=PA27#v=onepage&q&f=false) . University of Pennsylvania

Press. p. 27. Retrieved 9 April 2012.

4.

^ Ashraf, Mohsin (10 Jun 2007). Top Ten- Lives of the Greatest

Monarchs of History (http://books.google.co.uk

/books?id=mmub0CO1ZOEC&pg=PA32#v=onepage&q&f=false) .

Lulu.com. p. 32. Retrieved 9 April 2012.

5.

^ Nagel, Susan (2009) Marie-Therese: The Fate of Marie Antoinette's

Daughter, Bloomsbury

6.

^ With the withdrawal of the king and the court from Versailles, many

of those who had been employed either through a member of the royal

family or by the court, followed the court and king to Paris. As a

result, the population of Versailles fell from 80,000 to less than 25,000

in the weeks that followed 6 October 1789 (Mauguin, 1934).

7.

^ Article 16 : L'Empereur visite les dpartements : en consquence,

des palais impriaux sont tablis aux quatre points principaux de

l'Empire. Ces palais sont dsigns et leurs dpendances dtermines

par une loi. Source: Constitution of 1804 (http://www.conseil-

constitutionnel.fr/textes/constitution/c1804.htm)

8.

^ Ce que le roi Louis-Philippe a fait Versailles est bien. Avoir

accompli cette uvre, c'est avoir t grand comme roi et impartial

comme philosophe ; c'est avoir fait un monument national d'un

monument monarchique ; c'est avoir mis une ide immense dans un

immense difice ; c'est avoir install le prsent dans le pass, 1789

vis--vis de 1688, l'empereur chez le roi, Napolon chez Louis XIV ;

en un mot, c'est avoir donn ce livre magnifique qu'on appelle

l'histoire de France cette magnifique reliure qu'on appelle Versailles.

9.

^ da Vinha, Matthieu and Raphal Masson (2011). Versailles pour les

Nuls. p. 261.

10.

^ da Vinha, Matthieu and Raphal Masson (2011). Versailles pour les

Nuls. p. 229.

11.

^ Article 9: Le sige du pouvoir excutif et des deux chambres est

Versailles. Source: Constitution of 1875 (http://www.conseil-

constitutionnel.fr/textes/constitution/c1875.htm)

12.

^ Jeffkoonsversailles.com (http://www.jeffkoonsversailles.com/en/)13.

^ This room originally served as the west landing of the

Ambassadors Staircase and formed the main entrance to the grand

14.

appartement du roi.

^ Located in the western cove of the salon dApollon and painted by

Charles de La Fosse ca. 1674.

15.

^ Located in the southern cove of the ceiling of the salon de Mercure

and painted by Jean-Baptiste de Champaigne ca. 1674.

16.

^ Originally, the room that is known today as the salon de Vnus

formed part of the apartment of the kings mistress, Madame de

Montespan. Owing to her involvement with Affair of the Poisons,

during which time it was alleged she had been giving the king love

potions, she fell from grace in 1678 and her apartment was taken over

by Louis XIV at which time the new salon de Vnus was installed.

17.

^ Six kings were born in this room: Philip V of Spain, Louis XV,

Louis XVI, Louis XVII, Louis XVIII, and Charles X.

18.

^ This chapel was the second of chapels built in the chteau of

Versailles

19.

^ Owing to the construction of the Hall of Mirrors and the Salon of

Peace the central project of Louis XIVs Third building campaign

and the death of Marie-Thrse dAutriche in 1683, the grand cabinet,

the oratory, and the petit cabinet were demolished. Of these three

rooms, only fragments of the ceiling decoration of the grand cabinet

have survived; no evidence regarding the decoration of the oratory or

the petit cabinet has been found (Reynaud and Villain, 1970).

20.

^ On an interesting note, not only were women depicted in the

decoration of the grand appartement de la reine, but women

contributed to the decoration of these rooms. Most notable of these

ladies would be Madeleine Boullogne, who painted the over-door

painting in the antichambre de la reine (Constans, 1976).

21.

^ With the creation of this room, a new chapel the chteaus third

was built in the adjacent room to the east. In 1682, when the third

chapel was built (where the salon dHercule is now located), this

room was renamed la grande salle des gardes de la reine. In the 19th

century, this room was rebaptised salle du sacre owing to the

installation of Jacques-Louis David's Coronation of Napolon I.

22.

^ The decoration of this room was an important expression in French

interior design. It heralded the transition from the Regency style,

which prevailed from the death of Louis XIV through to 1732 (with

the decoration of the Salon de la princesse at the Htel de Soubise),

and the Rococo (or style Louis XV), the style that prevailed for the

greater part of the reign of Louis XV.

23.

^ It was through this room that the Paris mob, which stormed the

chteau during the night of 6/7 October 1789, gained access to the

chteau. During the mle, members of the garde Suisse, which

formed part the queens bodyguard, were killed in their attempts to

protect the queen.

24.

^ The marc, a unit equal to 8 ounces, was used to weigh silver and

gold.

25.

^ As of 4 April 2008, silver has been trading in New York at

US$17.83 an ounce.

26.

^ Wawro, Geoffrey, The Franco-Prussian War: the German conquest

of France in 18701871, (Cambridge University Press, 2003), 282.

27.

Further reading

Thompson, Ian. The Sun King's Garden: Louis XIV, Andr Le Ntre And the Creation of the Gardens of Versailles. London:Bloomsbury Publishing, 2006 (hardcover, ISBN 1-58234-631-3).

Reviewed (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2006/09/24/botho24.xml) by Peter Parker in the Telegraph(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) , 1 October 2006.Reviewed (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2006/09/24/botho224.xml) by John Adamson in theTelegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) , 2006.

Sources

Book Sources * Balzac, Honor de (1853). La comdie humaine.Volume 12. Paris: Pilet. * Bendix, Reinhard (1978). Kings orPeople: Power and the Mandate to Rule. Los Angeles: Universityof California Press. * Benichou, Paul (1948). Morales du grandsicle. Paris: ditions Gallimard. * Berger, Robert W (1985). In the

Journal Sources * Baillie, Hugh Murray (1967). "Etiquette and thePlanning of State Apartments in Baroque Palaces". ArcheologiaCI: 169199 * Batiffol, Louis (1913). "Le chteau de Versailles deLouis XIII et son architecte Philibert le Roy". Gazette desBeaux-Arts. 4 pr., vol. 10, November: 341371 * Batiffol, Louis


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External links

Official Site (http://en.chateauversailles.fr/homepage)Virtual Tour of the Palace (fullscreen panoramic tour) (http://www.stockholm360.net/list.php?id=versailles)Large Versailles photo gallery (http://jasoncoyne.smugmug.com/Vacation/Paris-2005/Versailles/)Flickr : Le Parc de Versailles (http://leparcdeversailles.webs.com/)

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