What did Versailles
look like before Louis XIV? How did the small hunting lodge of Louis XIII
become the largest Palace in Europe and how did the Sun King improve
Versailles? Watch the formation of Versailles from infancy to its glorious
ascent into a lavish existence!
The rise of Louis XIV, the Sun King, and his court at Versailles, signaled the dawn of the Classical Baroque era in art, architecture, music, and fashion. Clothing contained an abundance of lace, pearls, and gold finery and yet was liberated from the restricting colors and styles of the Renaissance.
As Voltaire states, "Europe is indebted for its politeness and spirit of society to the court of Louis XIV" (1).
As Voltaire states, "Europe is indebted for its politeness and spirit of society to the court of Louis XIV" (1).
The site began as Louis XIII’s hunting lodge before his son Louis XIV transformed and expanded it, moving the court and government of France to Versailles in 1682. Louis XIV chose the site to build the palace we know today, the symbol of royal absolutism and embodiment of classical French art(2). The three French kings who lived there until the French Revolution set about beautifying their inherited domain.
In the 1670s Louis XIV built the Grand Apartments of the King and Queen, which house the Hall of Mirrors designed by Mansart, where the king held receptions with foreign dignitaries. "The centerpiece was the Gallerie des Glaces-the Hall of Mirrors, along formal room. A wall of mirrors reflected the gardens outside glass-paned doors."(2) The additions of the Opera and Chapel are improvements claimed by Louis XV.
The French court, and the Bourbon monarchs (Louis XIV to Louis XVI), dictated the fashions of Western Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries. France was able to take center stage of popular culture because England had recoiled since the American War of Independence and suffering internal conflict and Italy had submerged after its lengthy flourish through the 14-16th centuries. With publications made available by the printing press, French wardrobe were advertised in popular salons and cafes before spreading from the metropolis which endures as a bastion of couture even into the 21st century.
In the 1670s Louis XIV built the Grand Apartments of the King and Queen, which house the Hall of Mirrors designed by Mansart, where the king held receptions with foreign dignitaries. "The centerpiece was the Gallerie des Glaces-the Hall of Mirrors, along formal room. A wall of mirrors reflected the gardens outside glass-paned doors."(2) The additions of the Opera and Chapel are improvements claimed by Louis XV.
The French court, and the Bourbon monarchs (Louis XIV to Louis XVI), dictated the fashions of Western Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries. France was able to take center stage of popular culture because England had recoiled since the American War of Independence and suffering internal conflict and Italy had submerged after its lengthy flourish through the 14-16th centuries. With publications made available by the printing press, French wardrobe were advertised in popular salons and cafes before spreading from the metropolis which endures as a bastion of couture even into the 21st century.
(1) Voltaire, The Works of Voltaire, Vol. XIII (Age of Louis XIV), Paris, 1751.
(2) "From the Seat of Power to the Museum of the History of France." Chateau Versailles.
(3) Civitello, Linda, Cuisine and Culture: La Galerie des Glaces of Louis XIV. 448. 2011.
(2) "From the Seat of Power to the Museum of the History of France." Chateau Versailles.
(3) Civitello, Linda, Cuisine and Culture: La Galerie des Glaces of Louis XIV. 448. 2011.