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Behind the Hall of Mirrors, symbol of the power of the King stands the remarkable project manager Charles le Brun (1619-1690).
As “First Painter of the King”, as director of the Gobelins (royal factory of tapestries and furniture), as a chancellor of the royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture, le Brun superintended all the decoration of the palace of Versailles.
He designed the decorations, the paintings of the royal apartments, the ornaments of the woodworks, the tapestries, even the locks. He directed the many teams, and could give a unit of style to the décor.
One could say of this complete decorator that “all arts worked under him”.
From 1678 to 1684, Charles le Brun decorated 1.000 m2 of the ceiling of the Hall of Mirrors with paintings illustrating the military campaigns of Louis XIV and his actions of interior policy. He upset the codes of official painting by painting for the first time in this type of compositions the face of the King.
As what concerns the 357 mirrors it is said that Venetian glassmakers were attracted in France by Colbert. These glassmakers coming from Murano were pursued in France by Venetians who tried to assassinate them to prevent the transmission of their production secrecy. A quite profitable manufacturing as Venetian mirrors did cost much more than a painting of Rubens in that time!
Recent chemical analyzes showed that the mirrors of Versailles were indeed manufactured in France, by the Saint-Gobain company created by Louis XIV, because typical components coming from Normandy were found in these mirrors.
At the time the silvering of the mirrors was done with tin and mercury what involved a high mortality among the workmen exposed to the toxic mercury vapours.
During the recent restoration of the gallery 30% of the old mirrors had to be replaced whereas silvering with mercury is prohibited since 1850.
Now, as visitors will see, the mirrors with mercury give special reflections, tonality and depth, while modern mirrors produce rather flat images.
Old mirrors were found at antique dealers and in the attics of the French Senate.
Since the silvering of these old mirrors contains approximately 19% mercury an analysis of the air of the hall of mirrors was carried out.
Be reassured the content of mercury in the air of the gallery is lower than the WHO's standards. Address: Château de Versailles.
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It was not without emotion that I pushed my head in the entry (one does not go further) of the theatre of Marie-Antoinette. This simple building located at a hundred meters of the palace of the Petit Trianon contains an oval room which was the private theatre of the Queen. It was built in 1780 by the architect Richard Mique.
It is a charming little theatre with decorative pasteboard sculptures, with blue hangings, a gold-embroidered curtain. The stage is larger than the auditorium.
It is an interesting theatre from the technical point of view because the machinery is from the period and the decoration is original though restored.
Close to the entry one can see a video explaining the lighting of this theatre by the means of candles.
It is also a moving place which reveals the personality of Marie-Antoinette always in search of entertainments and who liked to perform on scene.
She was very elegant but it is known as that she sang better than she played roles.
This place is also an example of the thoughtlessness, even more, the political unconsciousness of Marie-Antoinette. By holding the representations with a public of close friends she induced jealousy among the nobility which was not invited. Moreover she played, against the will of King Louis XVI, the role of Rosine in “the Barber of Seville” of Beaumarchais, an obvious satire of the nobility whereas the spirit of the revolution was already moving in France.
The empress of Austria Maria -Theresa told her daughter Marie-Antoinette, who had in no way inherited the political cleverness of her mother, to stop performing. Address: Versailles, Domaine de Marie-Antoinette.
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The visit of the “Grands Appartments du Roi” begins with this splendid and large "Hercules drawing-room" at the junction of the central body and the northern wing.
This room built between 1712 and 1736 by Robert de Cotte occupies the site of a former chapel. It is remarkable by the decoration of the walls with marble of various colours, the many pilasters with the Corinthian style capitals of gilded bronze and especially by its marble chimney decorated with splendid bronzes of Antoine Vassé evoking Hercules. On top of the chimney hangs a painting of Veronese “Rebecca and Eliézer”.
On the wall opposite the chimney hangs another large Veronese “the Meal at Simon the Pharisee” offered to Louis XIV by the Republic of Venice in 1664.
Still more remarkable is the ceiling painted by François Moyne representing the Apotheosis of Hercules. This immense painting painted with oil on strengthened canvas was extremely admired in its time but the painter exhausted by his work committed suicide whereas he had received the title of “First Painter of the King”.
It is in this room that took place the ball given by Louis XV for the marriage of his eldest daughter Elisabeth with the Infant of Spain in 1739.
The festivities, there were many in this room, were lit by candles what fouled up the vault and the painting of Le Moyne whose restoration of 480 m2 at a height of 15 m was finished in 2001.
The Hercules Drawing-Room is one of the most remarkable parts of the Royal apartments and deserves a somewhat lengthier visit. The light is very beautiful as the "Salon d'Hercule" is exposed to the east and the west. Address: Versailles, Château, Grands Appartements
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When visiting the drawing-rooms of Venus, Abundance, Diane and Mars one can imagine going back a few centuries and attend one of the evening receptions which Louis XIV offered to the Court in his Grand Apartments three times per week from 18 to 22 h. The festivities began with music, dances, parts of billiards in the Diane room (the king played billiards very well) and cards.
A light dinner was served in the Venus room on silver tables weighing more than 300 kg. These tables were covered with dishes, vases, candlesticks in silver like all the furniture. In the Abundance room were the dressers, also in silver, for fine liquors, wines, tea, coffee and hot chocolate. The rooms were lit by thousands of candles. The Mars room was the ballroom.
The Venus drawing-room owes its name to the mythological painting of the ceiling by Houasse. The room is decorated with "trompe l'oeil" paintings which give the effect to be sculptures and of a statue of Louis XIV.
The rather small room known as "Abundance room" owes its name to the painting of the ceiling representing “Abundance and the Liberality” of the painter Rene-Antoine Houasse (1683). The room opened on the Cabinet of Curiosities which contained the royal collections.
I liked the walls covered with an emerald green and gold velvet (restored in 1955) what contrasts with other decorations of the Royal Apartments. As we can see it today the décor of the "Salon de l'Abondance" goes back to King Louis Philippe. In the Diane drawing-room stands a remarkable bust of the king by the Italian sculptor Le Bernin.
In that period all the rooms of the "Grands Appartements du Roi" were decorated with silver furniture. There remains nothing of it. In December 1689 the King had all the silver furniture of his Apartments melted down to finance his wars. That represented 20 tons of silver. All these beautiful artefacts in silver had cost 10 million "livres" (pounds) of that time; Louis XIV obtained only 2 million livres. An enormous destruction of art! Address: Versailles, Château, Grands Appartements du Roi.
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Just back from a visit to Versailles (22/07/2008) I observed that a number of information given on the official website is not actual anymore.
When you pass the exterior gate you will have on the left (photo 1) a panel indicating < Billets - Tickets > where you have to buy your ticket (this is unchanged). On the right of that panel stands one with indication < A > this entrance is for all individuals having a ticket or a Paris museum pass (photo 2 at 4 pm.).
There is no gate C anymore for the Paris Museum Pass in contradiction with what your will read on the Paris museum pass and previous info from Versailles website. On the extreme right is the entrance for groups.
As more and more visitors buy their ticket in advance you find already a line at 9 hour at the opening at the gate . Here visitors pass in a prefab "pavilion" with 3 detector frames (photo 3). They check your bag.
From here you can go where you want, usually the circuit of the "Château de Versailles" with the highlights "Galerie des Glaces" and "Chambre du Roi".
The crowds at the Château de Versailles attain a maximum in summer season, by nice weather (no fun to visit the kilometres of gardens in the rain), and on Tuesday when the Louvre is closed.
Don't think that there will be no lines in the late afternoon. My pic n°4 shows a 200 m line for buying tickets at 16.30 h but on an exceptional sunny day.
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The Château de Versailles is one of the largest castles in the world .The Chateau de Versailles has ... more than 2,000 windows, 700 rooms, 1250 fireplaces, 67 staircases and more than 1,800 acres of park. The paintings, tapestries , sculptures ,furniture of this fabulous castle , have been executed by the best Italian and French artists of the time .
In 1623, King Louis XIII - father of Louis XIV , the Sun King , built a hunting lodge, a little château. The king liked so much this little castle in the middle of such a good hunting park, that he soon had it enlarged. From 1661 the young King Louis XIV had his architects embellish the early Versailles castle. There was built a second building enveloping the old Versailles castle with new even style stone façades. In 1682, the Château de Versailles became the official residence of the Sun King and his Court , replacing the Louvre and Saint-Germain Castles.When the king moved into the Versailles castle, he insisted that the castle was for the people, and that his home be open to one and all.
Versailles ' fabulous gardens and park are almost as spectacular as the castle. Le Nôtre designed this Versailles garden including fountains, jets, waterfalls, statues, water parterres, formal gardens, Grand Perspective and Grand Canal, to set off the Castle's architecture ...
This place of absolute wealth and luxury is totaly worth visiting. You probably will have to que a long way before you can enter, but your patience will be rewarded. Absolutly fabulous....
The Chateau is open from Tuesday to Sunday.
May-September 9 a.m. - 6.30 p.m.
Ocotber-April 9a.m. - 5.30p.m.
The parc and the gardens open every day except in bad weather from 7 a.m. in summer, 8 a.m. in winter, until sunset (between 5.30 p.m. and 9.30 p.m. depending on the season) Leave a Comment Directions: RER ligne C direction Versailles-rive-gauche-châteauWebsite: www.chateauversailles.fr Other Contact: service.multimedia@chateauversai
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If after a few days in Paris, you are ready to leave the city for a quick day trip, Versailles is a good option. Just take a 30-minute ride on the RER train, Line C, to Versailles Rive Gauche Station, the last stop on the line. This station brings you within just blocks of the famous Chateau of Versailles and the Hotel de Ville.
The Chateau is the major tourist draw in Versailles. The original hunting chateau was completed in 1624, and after some expansion, it became the official residence of the King in 1682, moving from the Louvre in Paris. The Royal family remained in residence here, constantly building additions and upgrades, until the French Revolution. In 1837, the Chateau became a museum dedicated to displaying French history.
Also worth seeing are the gardens, the park, and the Grand Trianon.
The Chateau is open Tuesday - Sunday, 9 am until 6:30pm in the summer and 5:30pm in the winter. The fee is 7.50 Euros. Visitors may request a guided tour or tour on their own. Leave a Comment
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With over 2,000 rooms, the Chateau de Versailles was built to entertain as many courtisans as possible. On any given day, over 20,000 people could be walking the grounds around the palace, and Louis XIV quickly realized that he needed a place to go to escape from Versailles! In 1687, the Grand Trianon was built for the king and his immediate family. Although it is much smaller than the palace, it is just as elegant. Then, in 1768, the Petit Trianon was added under Louis XV. It was meant to be a gift to the king's favorite, Madame de Pompadour; however, she died before its completion and instead it was offered to Marie-Antoinette by Louis XVI. Marie-Antoinette loved this "little country house", near which the "Queen's hamlet" was built in 1783. The hamlet was basically a small country village, complete with a farm where Marie-Antoinette would milk her cows and enjoy the quiet country life with her children.
As much as I liked visiting the Chateau de Versailles, I think I had an even better time walking around the gardens and visiting the other buildings spread throughout the park. It gets very crowded in the palace, so it's quite nice to escape to other parts of the estate (I guess I can understand Louis XIV's desire of leaving Versailles behind once in a while!). There are a few snack bars in the gardens where you can buy a baguette at a fairly reasonable price considering where you are, and nothing beats lying down by the Grand Canal after walking throughout the gardens. If you don't feel like walking it's possible to rent bikes, hop on the little train, or even rent a paddle boat to go on the canal, but all of these are rather expensive. So just make sure to wear comfortable walking shoes and you're good to go! Leave a Comment Phone: 01 30 83 76 20Directions: In Versailles, turn right as you exit from the train station and then left on Avenue de Paris - this will take you all the way up to the main entrance.Website: http://www.chateauversailles.fr
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I always liked malachite (hydrated copper carbonate if my mineralogy souvenirs are right) it is thus with great pleasure that I discovered this “Salon des Malachites” in the right wing (room n° 13) of the Grand Trianon.
In the beginning it was the “Cabinet of Sunset” of Louis XIV, then the bedroom of the duchess of Burgundy and finally the drawing-room of emperor Napoleon I.
The blocks of malachite, extracted of the Ural Mountains, were offered to Napoleon by the tsar Alexander I after the signature of the treaty of Tilsitt. It should be known that at the time malachite was a Russian speciality. There is at the Palace of St-Petersburg another famous malachite room.
The furniture elements with malachite were created by Percier and realised by Jacob-Desmalter in 1809. The basin, the candelabra and the pieces of furniture with malachite top were initially at the Palais des Tuileries before they were moved to decorate this room of the Grand Trianon.
The remainder of the furniture of the room is decorated with fabrics of red colour what causes a seizing contrast with the green malachite. Address: Grand Trianon, Domaine de Versailles
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As much the Castle is imposing, as much the Grand Trianon is a gem of architectural elegance. The choice of this retreat at the end of the Park of Versailles by Louis XIV and the choice of the architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart for its erection in 1687-1688 in a Italian style was a great success so that the Grand Dauphin, the Queen Marie Leszczinska, Napoleon I, King Louis-Philippe staid there and that finally the General de Gaulle decided to restore it in 1962-1965.
The Palace of the Grand Trianon consists of two buildings on ground floor, covered wit a flat roof with balustrade. The two wings are connected by a peristyle adorned with pink marble columns. The sight on the flowered gardens is beautiful.
Inside the mural decoration of the time of Louis XIV was restored. The furniture is in the style of the time of Napoleon I.
I felt quite pleased with my visit here. The Grand Trianon is much calmer than the castle itself. In sunny weather it is a very nice promenade distant for thirty minutes on foot. Address: Château de Versailles.Directions: Domaine de Marie-Antoinette
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on December 2, 2008
on August 19, 2004
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on May 18, 2007
