Who was the architect of the palace of Versailles?
After the Great Royal Entertainment in 1668, Louis XIV entrusted Le Vau, First Architect to the King since 1654, with the extension of the brick and stone palace built by his father Louis XIII.
Why did Louis XIV build Versailles?
In 1670, d'Orbay was tasked by Louis XIV with designing a city, also called Versailles, to house and service Louis XIV's growing government and court. The granting of land to courtiers for the construction of townhouses that resembled the palace began in 1671.
Where are the apartments in the palace of Versailles?
A historic monument since 1862, the palace’s apartments are located in its central axis. The most northern point in the palace houses the Battle Gallery and the Congress Hall. The palace’s chapel and the royal opera, completed after the death of Louis XIV, are in the north wing.
When was the garden at Versailles built?
Such were the aesthetics and the goal of Andre Le Notre, inventor of the 'French' garden, who began work at Versailles in 1662. Although it maintains the symmetry of Italian tradition, the park of Versailles has a network of axial pathways leading off to the horizon.
Who first built Versailles?
The palace. The original residence was primarily a hunting lodge and private retreat for Louis XIII (reigned 1610–43) and his family. In 1624 the king entrusted Jacques Lemercier with the construction of a château on the site.
Who built Versailles and why?
Louis XIV ruled France for 72 years, and in that time transformed Versailles by encompassing Louis XIII's chateau with a palace that contained north and south wings, as well as nearby buildings housing ministries. Versailles was built to impress.
What artists worked on the construction of Versailles?
The many French designers and craftsmen who contributed to Versailles' architecture, furnishings and objets d'art, included Louis Le Vau, Jules Hardouin Mansart, Andre le Notre, Charles Le Brun, Jean Berain the Elder, Andre-Charles Boulle, Charles Cressent, Jean-Baptiste Oudry, Francois Lemoyne, and Juste-Aurele ...
Who started building the Palace of Versailles?
In 1670, d'Orbay was tasked by Louis XIV with designing a city, also called Versailles, to house and service Louis XIV's growing government and court.
How much would it cost to build Versailles today?
The Palace of Versailles is massive and its extensive gardens even more so. The host to nearly 10 million visitors every year, the palace is comprised of 2,300 rooms and encompasses a staggering 679,784 square feet of floor space. The approximate cost to build the structure today would be $50.7 billion U.S. dollars.
Why was Versailles not destroyed?
Even though the sovereign and the court were no longer in residence, the Palace was not left to go to ruin. On the contrary, and as always during the royal family's absences, the opportunity was taken to carry out repairs.
What architectural style was Versailles?
French Baroque architecturePalace of Versailles / Architectural styleFrench Baroque architecture, sometimes called French classicism, was a style of architecture during the reigns of Louis XIII, Louis XIV and Louis XV. It was preceded by French Renaissance architecture and Mannerism and was followed in the second half of the 18th century by French Neoclassical architecture. Wikipedia
Who designed the interior of the Palace of Versailles?
Louis Le Vau 1612-1670 Versailles was without doubt the last great work by this famous architect of the mid-17th century. After the Great Royal Entertainment in 1668, Louis XIV entrusted Le Vau, First Architect to the King since 1654, with the extension of the brick and stone palace built by his father Louis XIII.
Does anyone live at Versailles today?
The grounds are now home to the Airelles Château de Versailles, Le Grand Contrôle hotel, making a sleepover at the nation's historic royal residence accessible to members of the public for the first time.
Who built Versailles and when was it completed?
It was a small country residence and, according to the Maréchal de Bassompierre, “a mere gentleman would not have been overly proud of the construction.” Louis XIII decided to rebuild it in 1631. Construction continued until 1634 and laid the basis of the Palace we know today.
Are Versailles Gates real gold?
During the French Revolution that began in 1789, the French revolutionary government ordered to dismantle the front gate, which was completely covered with gold. In 2008, the gate was recreated and decorated with 100,000 gold leaves.
How much of Versailles is true?
In the case of Versailles, it's a series grounded in broader historical truths, but one in which chronology has been manipulated and key characters invented so as to produce a stronger narrative. When events are debated by historians, it understandably dramatises the raciest interpretation of those contested events.
Why is the Palace of Versailles important?
The Palace of Versailles was important because, for the members of the third estate, it represented the excesses and failure of the king and queen as the French Revolution began. The Palace of Versailles was originally built by Louis XIII in 1623, as a hunting lodge.
What happened to Versailles after Louis death?
Following the death of Louis XIV in September 1715, the court abandoned Versailles for Vincennes and transplanted itself briefly to Paris the following December.
How long did it take for Versailles to be built?
In 1661, Louis XIV commissioned André Le Nôtre to design and layout the intricate grounds – a project that took forty years to complete. Just 20km from the centre of Paris, the Palace has become a UNESCO World Heritage site and for good reason – in 2017 alone, the Versailles received an incredible 7,700,000 visitors.
Why was the garden of Versailles built?
For Louis XIII, the place was not only a refuge where he could enjoy hunting but a place where he could get away from the authority of his mother, Marie de Medici, who would guarantee his ascension to the throne.
Who was the architect of Versailles?
Le Vau was succeeded at Versailles by his assistant, architect François d'Orbay. Work at the palace during the 1670s focused on its interiors, as the palace was then nearing completion, though d'Orbay expanded Le Vau's service wings and connected them to the château, and built a pair of pavilions for government employees in the forecourt. In 1670, d'Orbay was tasked by Louis XIV with designing a city, also called Versailles, to house and service Louis XIV's growing government and court. The granting of land to courtiers for the construction of townhouses that resembled the palace began in 1671. The next year, the Franco-Dutch War began and funding for Versailles was cut until 1674, when Louis XIV had work begun on a grand staircase for the reception of guests that became known as the Ambassadors' Staircase [ fr], and demolished the last of the village of Versailles.
Where is the Palace of Versailles?
The Palace of Versailles ( / vɛərˈsaɪ, vɜːrˈsaɪ / vair-SY, vur-SY; French: Château de Versailles [ʃɑto d (ə) vɛʁsɑj] ( listen)) is a former royal residence located in Versailles, about 12 miles (19 km) west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and has since 1995 been managed, under the direction of the French Ministry of Culture, by the Public Establishment of the Palace, Museum and National Estate of Versailles . 15,000,000 people visit the Palace, Park, or Gardens of Versailles every year, making it one of the most popular tourist attractions in the world. However, due to the COVID-19 virus, the number of paying visitors to the Chateau dropped by 75 percent from eight million in 2019 to two million in 2020. The drop was particularly sharp among foreign visitors, who account for eighty percent of paying visitors.
How many mirrors are there in Versailles?
It measures 73 meters (240 ft) long, 10.5 meters (34 ft) wide, and 12.3 meters (40 ft) high, and is decorated with 357 mirrors facing 17 windows and reflecting the light provided by them. The Hall occupies the site of a terrace Le Vau built between the king and queen's suites. It was, however, exposed to inclement weather, making it usable only in the summer months, and in 1678 Louis XIV tasked Mansart with demolishing it. In its place, from 1678 to 1681, Mansart built the Hall of Mirrors. The ceiling fresco, painted by Charles Le Brun over the next four years, embellishes the first 18 years of Louis XIV's reign in 30 scenes. The fresco depicts Louis XIV as a Roman emperor, breaking from earlier frescoes at Versailles that used Classical and mythological scenes as allegory rather than palette.
Why was the Palace of Versailles important to Louis XIV?
The Palace of Versailles was key to Louis XIV's politics, as an expression and concentration of French art and culture, and for the centralization of royal power. Louis XIV first used Versailles to promote himself with a series of nighttime festivals in its gardens in 1664, 1668, and 1674, the events of which were disseminated throughout Europe by print and engravings. As early as 1669, but especially from 1678, Louis XIV sought to make Versailles his seat of government, and he expanded the palace so as to fit the court within it. The moving of the court to Versailles did not come until 1682, however, and not officially, as opinion on Versailles was mixed among the nobility of France.
What did Louis XIV want to preserve?
Louis XIV at first desired to preserve his father's château and, over the 1660s, Le Vau only added a forecourt, paved in marble, and two detached service wings. In mid-1669, however, Louis XIV decided to demolish the château and replace it with a palace that could house his household and government. He was dissuaded from this by Colbert, and instead, from 1668 to 1670, Le Vau encased Louis XIII's château on three sides in a feature dubbed the enveloppe. This gave the château a new, Italianate façade overlooking the gardens, but preserved the courtyard façade, resulting in a mix of styles and materials that dismayed Louis XIV and that Colbert described as a "patchwork". Attempts to homogenize the two façades failed, and in 1670 Le Vau died.
What buildings did Mansart build?
Adjacent to the palace, Mansart built a pair of stable buildings called the Grande [ fr] and Petite Écuries [ fr] from 1679 to 1682 and the Grand Commun [ fr], which housed the palace's servants and general kitchens, from 1682 to 1684.
Why did Napoleon Bonaparte abandon Versailles?
When Napoleon Bonaparte became Emperor of the French in 1804, he considered making Versailles his residence but abandoned the idea because of the cost of the renovation. Prior to his marriage with Marie-Louise in 1810, he had the Grand Trianon restored and refurnished as a springtime residence for himself and his family, in the style of furnishing that it is seen today.
Where are the royal courts in Versailles?
The Royal, Marble and Princes Courts are lined up in the southern part of the palace and the Chapel is located in the northern part. Every section of the palace also has large interior courts that are split up into two smaller ones. The Château de Versailles was not like it is today.
What was the name of the palace that Louis XIV built?
Before becoming the residence of kings Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI, Versailles was a hunting pavilion constructed at the behest of Louis XIII by Nicolas Huaut. A castle was also built with a French garden where the royal court would spend time. However, when the king died, Anne of Austria would ensure the crown for her son, Louis XIV, and leave the Versailles apartments to abandon.
What is the most northern point of the Palace?
The most northern point in the palace houses the Battle Gallery and the Congress Hall. The palace’s chapel and the royal opera, completed after the death of Louis XIV, are in the north wing. In addition to its buildings, the palace is built around interior and exterior courtyards.
Where did Louis XIV live?
After his marriage to Marie-Thérèse of Austria, Louis XIV set up his official, royal residence at Versailles and construction began, in phases, to make it the incredible palace that it is today.
What is the layout of the palace?
Moreover, the palace’s layout was revolved around the king. For example, his private chamber is located exactly in the middle of the palace, therefore demonstrating that everything must and does revolve around him. The first floor is reserved for the King and Queen’s apartments, north and south wings respectively.
Is Chateau de Versailles a technical work?
A Highly Technical Work of Art. Despite its being significantly influenced by the Baroque genre, the entirety of the Chateau de Versailles is particularly harmonious thanks to optical illusions. The palace’s set up is very geometric with some distortions that work together to give the illusion that a perfect harmony exists.
Was the Château de Versailles like it is today?
The Château de Versailles was not like it is today. Those who resided within its walls influenced the palace’s architecture and organization, which became increasingly complex until finally serving as an independent royal residence.
Overview
Royal Apartments
The construction in 1668–1671 of Le Vau's enveloppe around the outside of Louis XIII's red brick and white stone château added state apartments for the king and the queen. The addition was known at the time as the château neuf (new château). The grands appartements (Grand Apartments, also referred to as the State Apartments ) include the grand appartement du roi and the grand apparte…
History
In 1623, Louis XIII, King of France, built a hunting lodge on a hill in a favorite hunting ground, 12 miles (19 km) west of Paris, and 10 miles (16 km) from his primary residence, the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye. The site, near a village named Versailles, was a wooded wetland that Louis XIII's court scorned as being generally unworthy of a king; one of his courtiers, François de Basso…
Architecture and plan
The Palace of Versailles is a visual history of French architecture from the 1630s to the 1780s. Its earliest portion, the corps de logis, was built for Louis XIII in the style of his reign with brick, marble, and slate, which Le Vau surrounded in the 1660s with Enveloppe, an edifice that was inspired by Renaissance-era Italian villas. When Mansart made further expansions to the palace in the 1680s, he u…
Hall of Mirrors
The Hall of Mirrors is a long gallery at the westernmost part of the palace that looks out onto the gardens. The hall was built from 1678 to 1681 on the site of a terrace Le Vau built between the king and queen's suites. The hall is clad in marble and decorated in a modified version of the Corinthian order, with 578 mirrors facing 17 windows and reflecting the light provided by them. The ceiling fresco, painted by Le Brun over the next four years, embellishes the first 18 years of …
Royal Chapel
The Royal Chapel of Versailles is located at the southern end of the north wing. The building stands 40-meter (130 ft) high, and measures 42 meters (138 ft) long and 24 meters (79 ft) wide. The chapel is rectangular with a semicircular apse, combining traditional, Gothic royal French church architecture with the French Baroque style of Versailles. The ceiling of the chapel is constituted by a…
Royal Opera
• The Royal Box
• Foyer of the Royal Opera
• The Royal Opera during the celebration of the marriage of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette (1770)
• Stage of the Royal Opera
Museum of the History of France
• Louis Philippe dedicates the Galerie des Batailles, by François Joseph Heim (1837)
• The Gallery of Battles in the Museum of the History of France
• The Battle of Taillebourg, by Eugène Delacroix (1837)