Mirror Gallery in Versailles. mirror gallery
Royal Palace at Versailles- this is the main pearl of France, which is located just 20 km from Paris in a small town. Exactly big Versailles castle served as a model for many European castles. The architectural and landscape masterpiece includes luxurious palace buildings and exquisite gardens with artificial and natural lakes. Versailles became a symbol of the power and authority of the French monarch Louis XIV.
Reasons for the construction of the royal palace in Versailles:
- Due to the revolutionary movement, living in the royal family was dangerous.
- ambition. In the 17th century, France was actively developing, becoming a new superpower. A powerful state needed a worthy political center, which became Versailles . Paris at that time was a provincial city.
- Envy of the young king, which arose after Louis XIV saw the castle of Vaux-le-Vicomte Nicolas Fouquet. By the way, the owner of the castle was soon executed.
The palace at Versailles could simultaneously accommodate 10,000 people - of which 5,000 courtiers and 5,000 servants. The domestic policy of Louis XIV was the vigilant control of the aristocracy. Those courtiers who left the Palace of Versailles were forever deprived of royal grace and, as a result, property and ranks.
The best French masters were involved in the construction of the architectural and landscape complex: Louis Levo, Andre Le Nôtre, Charles Le Brun. In total, 25 million livres or 259.56 billion modern euros were spent from the state treasury. This is despite the fact that construction grand palace in France, it was carried out under extreme austerity, due to which some windows did not open and fireplaces did not work. In winter, living in the Palace of Versailles was uncomfortable.
Mirror Gallery, Palace of Versailles, France.
The Hall of Mirrors is rightly considered the most grandiose and impressive sight of the Palace of Versailles. The brilliant masters of the Renaissance embodied in him the ideas of absolutism. The hall amazes and delights with wealth and luxury. Every detail of the interior is generously decorated with gold. Huge mirrors, sculptures and numerous crystal chandeliers are harmoniously combined in a single ensemble.
Interestingly, it was in the Mirror Gallery that the famous Treaty of Versailles was signed in 1919.
Royal Chapel, Versailles, France.
The Royal Chapel is located on the right side of the palace complex in Versailles. The gilded royal altar contrasts with the snow-white columns decorated with stucco. The exquisite bronze figures of the Greek gods immediately catch the eye. The chapel consists of 2 floors. Only monarchs had the right to climb to the upper tier.
An interesting fact: every second court lady dreamed of becoming the favorite of the loving Louis XIV. That is why the fair sex never missed a service.
Hall of Apollo, palace in Versailles, France.
The throne room was intended for ceremonial receptions foreign delegations. In the evening, holidays were sometimes arranged here.
Salon of War, palace in Versailles, France.
Salon War is dedicated to the military triumph of France. The walls of the hall are decorated with canvases glorifying the legendary victories of the French.
Salon of Diana, palace in Versailles, France.
The interior of this salon is decorated with golden vaults and painted walls, antique sculptures and busts. Once in this hall there was a large billiard table, at which monarchs and courtiers had fun.
Queen's bedroom, Palace of Versailles, France.
The queen's bedroom is decorated with woven portraits, picturesque panels, stucco, and crystal chandeliers. Every detail of the decor is covered with the purest gold.
Interesting: in the 17th century, queens gave birth in public.
Bedroom of the king, palace in Versailles, France.
The extravagant king of France loved pomp and luxury most of all. This is exactly what his bedchamber is, located in the heart of the Palace of Versailles. The royal box is decorated with scarlet silk canopy.
The narcissistic monarch Louis XIV adored the theatre. And so he turned his whole life into a pompous performance, which was given with dignity on a magnificent stage - V royal palace in Versailles!
Mirror Gallery of Versailles
photo Philippe
The Mirror Gallery of the Palace of Versailles, the masterpiece of the architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart and the artist Charles Lebrun, a symbol of the greatness of Louis XIV, who wanted to make it [the showcase of France], regained its original splendor after three years of restoration work. It was the first complete restoration since the completion of the gallery in 1684. This [the only royal beauty in the world, as the Marquise de Sevigne wrote about it, appears today, according to the chief architect historical monuments Palace of Frederic Didier, [a dazzling old lady, whose [all the wrinkles on her face tell a story].
Photo by the French Foreign Ministry, for free useThe restoration campaign carried out for this [beauty] who still retained much of her youthful charm is the largest cultural patronage operation ever carried out in France, with a total cost of 12 million euros. The costs were fully borne by the construction company and public works Vinci. It was [competent philanthropy, as a group of philanthropists carried out both the general design and the material support of all the work, the implementation of which was entrusted to specialist enterprises in the restoration and preservation of the national heritage. The first technical operations concerned the repair of all electrical networks, heating, thermal insulation, ventilation and air conditioning systems in accordance with fire safety standards. A new lighting system was invented, giving the effect of light from candles. On the artistic side, enterprises specializing in the restoration of historical monuments actively cooperated with artisans, holders of centuries-old knowledge and skills. They cleaned the murals, polished 1100 sq. m. of polychrome marble, gilded bronze, restored metal ornaments and forging elements, repaired 770 sq. m. m. of floors, gold-plated wooden surfaces using traditional technology.
All 357 mirrors, which gave the name to this fabulous gallery, included in the UNESCO List world heritage humanity, have undergone a special [treatmentk. Restoration work was entrusted to a specialist in antique mirrors. All mirrors were removed and the damaged panes were replaced with mercury-coated mirrors, the same as the original mirrors, of which, to everyone's surprise, 70% remained in the gallery. The specialist thus restored 309 mirrors, of which 48 were completely replaced, either broken or dated from another era. The same mirror-maker unexpectedly discovered under the roof of the Senate a warehouse of ancient mirrors, preserved from the time when the palace was the residence of the king's brother. The master cut them in accordance with the original to install in the gallery. The secret of making Venetian mercury-coated mirrors was passed on by several workers who were lured away from Murano by Colbert and hired for 4 years at Versailles. But this process of making mirrors proved deadly for a large number of glaziers who were poisoned by mercury vapor. Therefore, in 1850, this technology was completely banned in France, where even then it was replaced by the manufacture of silver-coated mirrors.
For the first time in the history of cultural patronage in France, under an agreement agreed with the administrative court of Versailles, the state officially entrusted the entire range of work to a private enterprise. The general design was, of course, entrusted to the chief architect of the Historical Monuments, with the support of the Supervisory Committee and the International Scientific Council, consisting of twenty specialists. For these exceptional works, Vinci, which involved a hundred experienced restorers, was awarded the first medal [Outstanding Patron of the Ministry of Culture and Communications]. This medal was established in 2003 during the adoption of a new law on patronage, allowing such events.
The mirror gallery was created between 1678 and 1684. Jules Hardouin-Mansart (1646-1708); it connected the large apartments of the king with the apartments of the queen. Charles Lebrun (1619-1690), his first artist, was commissioned by the Sun King to reproduce the most significant events of the first 17 years of his reign (military victories, administrative and economic reforms) in the painting of the ceiling vaults. Driven by his amazing genius, the artist depicted these scenes with endless allegories, perspectives, visual deceptions and knocking bas-reliefs. Instead of the usual images of gods or heroes in the central part of the ceiling painting, the artist decided to depict the king himself, sitting on the throne. Racine gave the famous title to this painting: [The King Rules Samk. This thousand sq. m. ceiling painting is the largest pictorial ensemble in France.
In this very solemn hall of the Palace of Versailles, the marriages of princes (in particular, the future king Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette) took place, one court feast followed another. The mirror gallery, a symbol of the [French genius, was also perfect place for audiences given to distinguished foreign guests. After the fall of the monarchy, the gallery continued to serve as a place where historical events took place. During the Second Empire, Napoleon III and Empress Eugenie revived the splendor of the balls of the royal regime for the last time, receiving Queen Victoria in the gallery on August 25, 1855. It was there that the German Empire was proclaimed on January 18, 1871 and on June 18, 1919 the Treaty of Versailles was signed , which put an end to the First World War (1914 1918).
Presented to the public in all the splendor of pristine lighting, the newly restored huge hall (173 m long, 10.5 m wide and 12.5 m high under the dome) during all three years of work, however, was never closed for excursions. It was impossible to deprive the 4 million tourists who annually visit the palace from such pleasure. About 6,000 visitors, of which about 1,000 young people, were even able to climb the scaffolding to join the profession of a restorer and watched with admiration from close to the revival of Lebrun's magnificent paintings, sometimes spoiled by unsuccessful previous restorations or simply darkened with time.
For three centuries of French history, alas, left the gallery in [a state of general pollution: everything was black, darkened, reminiscent of Frederic Didier, while Lebrun was a great colorist. The women restorers spent three years literally not looking up from the painting of the plafond, passionate about their work, realizing that [there will no longer be such a restoration in their lives. As a result of their scrupulous work, to everyone's surprise, the amazing blue color of lapis lazuli was revealed, which covers the sky and illuminates the entire vault of the ceiling. In other paintings, bright reds, yellows, lilacs, grays opened up, and at the same time, inappropriate later layers of paint disappeared. Thus, it was found that 80% of the paintings were recorded by artists of subsequent generations.
[Everyone has entered the Gallery of Mirrors at some time, but who could say until today that he has seen it? Nobody. The reason is simple: she was invisible. This now obsolete remark comes from Jacques Thuillier, author of a wonderful little book [Gallery of Mirrors a Newfound Masterpiece.
Claudine Canetti
Web site:
www.chateauversailles.fr
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The Mirror Gallery (fr. Galerie des Glaces) is the most famous interior of the Palace of Versailles. Together with the disappeared staircase of the Ambassadors and the Palace Chapel, it was one of the three largest interiors of the residence of Louis XIV. The dimensions of the hall in terms of 73.0 m × 10.5 m. Height - 12.3 m.
Construction history
In 1678, Jules Hardouin-Mansart began to rebuild the "Envelope" of the palace, created by Louis Leveau. In place of the open terrace of the second floor, they arranged big gallery(Mirror it will be called only in the XIX century). Together with the halls of War and Peace flanking it (the latter will be completed only under Louis XV), it connected the King's Grand appartements with the queen's chambers, becoming the apotheosis of Louis XIV's Grand style. At the same time, it should be noted that the construction of the gallery violated the logic of the Planets Apartments (the name of the group of halls of the Large Apartments): during its creation, the salons of Jupiter, Saturn and Venus, located in the left risalit of the Envelope, were destroyed. (The salon of Venus was re-made at the beginning of the enfilade, at the Stairs of the Ambassadors). When designing the space of the new interior, Hardouin-Mansart was based on the gallery of the Clagny castle he had created earlier. The scheme of completion from the ends with salons connected with the main volume by open arches was used in the residence of the Duke of Orleans. The subjects of the painting were originally supposed to be dedicated to Apollo (as in the Louvre) or Hercules (as in the Lambert Hotel). But after the conclusion of peace in Niemwegen, which became the apotheosis of the reign of Louis XIV, Charles Lebrun sketched out sketches of the History of the King in two days. According to his sketches, the capitals of the pilasters were made in the national "French" order (which is actually a modified Corinthian) with fleur-de-lys and Gallic roosters in the decor, and numerous elements of the furniture of the gallery: there were alabaster tables and vases in a bronze frame, stools and floor lamps made of silver, made in the workshops of the Gobelins, eight-horned silver candelabra with the image of the exploits of Hercules were installed between the windows on silver tables, which was a reflection of the original design concept. The gallery was decorated with orange trees planted in silver pots. The same metal is used in the fittings of crystal chandeliers. Seventeen windows are framed with curtains of blue silk embroidered with gold. The mirrors that gave the interior its name were made in the newly founded workshops of the Faubourg Saint-Antoine. The floor was covered with huge carpets from Savoneri workshops. Almost all silver items were melted down after the first edict against luxury in 1689, issued to cover military expenses. And today, despite all the splendor, the interiors of Versailles are only a pale shadow of their former glory.
Historical events
On May 15, 1685, in the newly completed Grand (Mirror) Gallery, the king receives representatives of the Doge of Genoa, who, after a ten-day bombardment of the city by the French, were forced to publicly apologize to him for building four galleys for Spain. This event was captured…
Versailles. Part one. Castle. October 27th, 2010
I decided to talk about Versailles briefly, with photographs rather than text.
A sea of excellent descriptions of the palace can be found on the Internet, for example, in Wikipedia .
Paris is the most visited city in the world. The Palace of Versailles, located in the suburbs of Paris, is the most visited palace in the world. 2.6 million people come here every year to see with their own eyes how the most absolute monarch of European history lived - the "sun king" Louis XIV.
Pearl of the Palace of Versailles - Mirror Gallery
Main square in front of the Palace of Versailles. On the right is a monument to Louis XIV
At school, we all learned about King Louis XIV of France, " Sun King". Fearing for my life and for power, he was forced to move from Paris. As the new residence of the monarch, he chose the small hunting lodge of his father, Louis XIII in the suburbs of Paris. On these lands, Louis XIV built the largest royal residence of France, a symbol of himself, his country and the absolutist power that he personified.
On the square in front of the palace, facing the arriving guests and with its back to Versailles, there is an equestrian monument to Louis XIV. Previously, such monuments stood in every city in France, but during the French Revolution, most of the monuments were destroyed.
The facade of the palace is made in the style of French classicism (not to be confused with classicism and neoclassicism in Europe). This is due to the fact that at the time of the beginning of the construction of the palace, there was already a small hunting lodge of Louis XIII, built in the style of classicism. I am not sure how right I will be if I say that the central 7-window part of the palace is all that is left of the hunting lodge.
Front square in front of Versailles
In the right wing of the palace is the royal chapel (pictured right). The facade of the chapel contrasts sharply with the even geometric lines of the facade of the palace. Many architects opposed this architectural solution, one architect even named the chapel " huge hearse"But who will argue with the king!
Interior of the royal chapel. It was here that Marie Antoinette married King Louis XVI of France. Today, symphony concerts are held from time to time in the court chapel. This chapel is the fifth chapel in Versailles and the largest royal chapel in France (apparently, there are even larger chapels somewhere).
The second tier of the royal chapel
French Kings Gallery
On the first floor of the palace there is a museum of the history of France, opened in 1837. Most tourists fly by this place like a bullet. Probably, French schoolchildren are brought here without fail
One piece of advice: Entrance to Versailles is like any other state museums France ( Louvre, d "Orsay, Orangerie etc.) is free for EU residents who are under 26 years old. This list, of course, includes all students of European universities, including scholarship holders of exchange programs. Take advantage!
The main premises of the palace are located on two tiers. The staircase on the frame leads to the second floor, to the living quarters of the king
Most of the money spent on the construction of the palace went to the creation of interior decoration. Sadly, most of the furniture from Versailles was destroyed during the French Revolution. Modern Versailles is furnished with furniture that comes from the same era as the lost examples, or those originals that have been found.
front room in front mirror gallery- Hall of War ( Salon de la guerre). In every room of the palace you can find an image of Louis XIV, just like here, above the fireplace
The most famous room of the Palace of Versailles is, without a doubt, mirror gallery(original name - Great Gallery). Imagine, it was the first place in the world where people saw their own reflection in full growth! The old technology of glass blowing did not allow the production of large mirrors. Because of this, mirrors were small and very expensive. IN hall of mirrors for the first time in the world, many small mirrors were stacked together. Now the guests who came to the king to the ball could see themselves in full growth! Ironic, but only a few years after the decoration mirror gallery an alternative technology for the production of mirrors appeared, and mirrors fell sharply in price.
Masterpiece mirror gallery in Versailles - crystal chandeliers. Previously, all the furnishings of the Great Gallery were made of silver, even the stools. In 1689, all silver objects were melted down to cover military expenses.
I have heard negative reviews after a visit to Versailles, they say, " it is not so luxurious, we have better" or " he's not that big"And so on. I categorically disagree with such arguments. I believe that Versailles, as a masterpiece of human thought, is one of those places that a person must visit in his life, at least to broaden his horizons. The only thing that leaves much to be desired is the crowds tourists. Frankly, there is no time to think in the interior of the palace, no time to stand and look at the details of decoration and no time to think. The incessant stream of tourists carries you, and you can only escape from it on the street. What can you do, this is the reputation of the palace!
In the second part of my report, I will talk about royal park Versailles - one of the largest parks in Europe!