The ceilings of the State Apartments

The ceilings of the King's State Apartment were painted byCharles Le Brun and his studio beginning at the Drawing-Roomof Plenty (ceiling by René-Antoine Houasse). This then leads onto the Venus Drawing-Room, named after the Goddess of Love,with the ceiling again by René-Antoine Houasse, followed by theDiana Drawing-Room, named after the Goddess of Hunting (cei-ling by Gabriel Blanchard, Claude Audran and Charles de LaFosse), the Mars Drawing-Room, named after the God of War (cei-ling by Claude Audran, Jean-Baptiste Jouvenet and René-AntoineHouasse), the «Bedchamber» or Mercury Drawing-Room, namedafter the Messenger of the Gods (ceiling by Jean-Baptiste deChampaigne), and lastly the Apollo Drawing-Room or ThroneRoom (ceiling by Charles de La Fosse and Gabriel Blanchard).The Queen's Apartment includes, beginning at the StateBedchamber (ceiling by François Boucher), the Salon des Nobles(ceiling by Michel Corneille), the Queen's Antechamber orAntechamber of the Grand Couvert (ceiling by Claude Vignonand Antoine Paillet), the Queen's Guardroom (ceiling by NoëlCoypel), and lastly the Salle du Sacre (Coronation Room), for-merly the King's Guardroom (paintings by Jacques-Louis Davidand Antoine Gros; ceiling by Antoine-François Callet).

The Hall of Battles (not continuous opening)

The Hall of Battles was opened in 1837 by King Louis-Philippeon the site of the former princes' apartments on the first floorof the South Wing. The Hall, 120 metres long and 13 metreswide, is based on the Grande Galerie of the Louvre and portraysFrance's military triumphs, with 33 paintings depicting battlesin which the French armies distinguished themselves (fromTolbiac in 496 to Wagram in 1809), 82 busts of military figures,and 16 bronze plaques in honour of the heroes who died forFrance. The tour ends in the 1830 Room, which illustrates theevents of the July Revolution («the Three Glorious Days») withthe rise of King Louis-Philippe d'Orléans of the younger branchof the House of Bourbon (paintings by Ary Scheffer, Charles-Philippe Larivière, François Gérard and Eugène Devéria).

The Queen's Apartment

The Queen's Apartment, installed at the same time as theKing's State Apartment, consists of four rooms. This apartmentwas occupied by each queen in succession (the last beingQueen Marie-Antoinette) and several dauphines, and alsounderwent many changes, which explains the variety of deco-rative styles in contrast with the unity of the King's StateApartment. This apartment, where the queen lived out herpublic life (all of the royal children were born in the large bed-chamber), was supplemented by private rooms overlookingthe courtyards, allowing a greater degree of privacy.

The battle of Taillebourg,by E. Delacroix

Ceiling of the Queen’s Guardroom,by N. Coypel

The State Apartments of the King and Queen, Hall of Mirrors

Versailles

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InformationFor further information on programmes, schedules and organization of visits, please contact :«Service d'Action Culturelle»

Telephone 01 30 83 77 88Fax 01 30 83 77 90

If you would like more information onthe Château and the estate, please visit our web site at :www.chateauversailles.fr

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The King's State Apartment

The King's State Apartment, which was remodelled severaltimes, received its final décor between 1671 and 1681 as aresult of the work supervised by Charles Le Brun, who desi-gned a suite of rooms dedicated to the planets gravitatingaround Apollo, the god symbolising the sun (Louis XIV'semblem) in Greek and Roman mythology. It consists of aseries of seven drawing-rooms overlooking the North Parterre,each room having a specific purpose (buffets, games, dancing,and billiards etc.) during the receptions given by the King forthe Court. From 1684, it was exclusively used for audiencesand Court entertainment since the King lived in the roomsoverlooking the Marble Courtyard (special tour of the «King'sBedchamber», entrance C).

The Hall of Mirrors

The War Drawing-Room, the Hall of Mirrors (73 metres long, 10.50metres wide and 12.30 metres high) and the Peace Drawing-Roomform a magnificent series of rooms extending along the westernfaçade of the Château looking out onto the Grand Perspective of thegardens. The project was carried out by the architect JulesHardouin-Mansart and the painter Charles Le Brun between 1678and 1686. The paintings on the vaulted ceiling illustrate events inthe life of Louis XIV, from the time he began to reign in his ownright in 1661, until the Peace of Nijmegen in 1678. The King wouldpass through the Hall of Mirrors every day on his way to theChapel. It was also a passageway between the King's and Queen'sapartments. Finally, the Hall of Mirrors was used for large recep-tions, royal weddings, and ambassadorial presentations (the thronewould be set up there for the latter occasions).

Ceiling-coves of the Drawing-Room of Plenty,by R.-A. Houasse

Louis XVI (1754-1793),by J.-S. Duplessis

Louis XIV (1638-1715),by H. Rigaud

Louis XV (1710-1774),by F.-H. Drouais

Plan of the First Floor

The tour of the state apartmentsstarts at the upper chapel vestibule.

Marie-Antoinette and her children,by Madame Vigée-Lebrun

ROYAL CHAPEL

UPPER CHAPEL VESTIBULE

HERCULES DRAWING-ROOM

DRAWING-ROOM OF PLENTY

VENUS DRAWING-ROOM

DIANA DRAWING-ROOM

MARS DRAWING-ROOM

MERCURY DRAWING-ROOM, OR «BEDCHAMBER»

APOLLO DRAWING-ROOM, OR THRONE ROOM

WAR DRAWING-ROOM

HALL OF MIRRORS

PEACE DRAWING-ROOM

QUEEN'S BEDCHAMBER

SALON DES NOBLES

QUEEN'S ANTECHAMBER, OR ANTECHAMBER OF THE GRAND COUVERT

QUEEN'S GUARDROOM

SALLE DU SACRE (CORONATION ROOM), FORMERLY THE KING'S GUARDROOM

1792 ROOM

HALL OF BATTLES

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Ceiling of the Hall of Mirrors,by Ch. Le Brun

Ceiling of the Apollo Drawing-Room,by Ch. de La Fosse

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