Palace of Versailles
(Catalogue nos. 41-52)
It was Jules Hardouin-Mansart, the King’s chief architect, who designed the extension and renovation of the palace from 1678, including the lavishly decorated royal and princely apartments. Hardouin-Mansart’s crowning achievement in the glorification of Louis XIV was the central gallery, the Hall of the Mirrors, completed in 1686. Its most famous feature is the seventeen mirror-clad arches that reflect an equal number of arcaded windows overlooking the terraced gardens. Providing additional light are the shimmering chandeliers suspended from the vaulted ceiling, sumptuously decorated by the architect’s collaborator and premier peintre du roi, Charles Le Brun, with scenes glorifying the king’s political and military prowess.
Attracted by the ‘sheer madness of it all’, Trevor was particularly fascinated by the Hall of Mirrors for its complex play of reflections and he expresses his wonderment in the richly worked-up studies in this series. Some are directly based on the mirrored gallery (cat. nos. 41-42, 52) while others are inspired by decorative features seen elsewhere in the palace such as the bed chamber of Marie-Antoinette, where the mantelpiece supports a white marble bust of the ill-fated queen (cat. no. 48).
Attracted by the ‘sheer madness of it all’, Trevor was particularly fascinated by the Hall of Mirrors for its complex play of reflections and he expresses his wonderment in the richly worked-up studies in this series. Some are directly based on the mirrored gallery (cat. nos. 41-42, 52) while others are inspired by decorative features seen elsewhere in the palace such as the bed chamber of Marie-Antoinette, where the mantelpiece supports a white marble bust of the ill-fated queen (cat. no. 48).
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