A major restoration project at the Palace of Versailles has brought the Gallery of Mirrors closer to its original appearance. The intervention, the result of rigorous historical research and architectural restoration work, has made it possible to recreate the volumes, light effects and perspectives originally intended, restoring it to its full formal coherence and extraordinary artistic magnificence that make it one of the absolute symbols of the French Grand Siècle. In particular, the visual balance of the vault painted by Charles Le Brun, considered one of the greatest masterpieces of 17th-century painting, has been restored.
The image that characterized the Gallery for decades, with three rows of modern chandeliers arranged throughout the room, dated back to a choice inspired by an exceptional use of the space as a ballroom. During the Ancien Régime, in fact, the gallery was turned into a ballroom only on rare occasions -about a dozen times-as on the occasion of the weddings of the Dauphins of France and the brothers of the future Louis XVI between 1697 and 1773. The chandeliers, which were not part of the permanent decor, were installed temporarily and removed immediately after the festivities. In the 1970s, to restore vitality to a palace then perceived as bare, it was decided to evoke the atmosphere of the wedding between Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, creating twenty chandeliers and twenty-four torchères in 1980. However, that permanent configuration as a ballroom deviated from theauthentic 18th-century layout and soon raised doubts about its historical correctness.
The new arrangement, with a single central row of six chandeliers, now restores a more authentic appearance to the Gallery of Mirrors. The Gallery, which replaced a terrace ill-suited to the French climate, connected the King’s and Queen’s State Apartments, providing a sumptuous setting intended to host grand ceremonies to receive ambassadors and guests of rank.
The new arrangement of the chandeliers, faithful to the historic one, enhances the dialogue between the windows facing the gardens and the mirrors reflecting their light, restoring the original perspective play and spatial illusion. The monumental proportions, the pillars with French-order capitals and the large openings to the two corner halls thus regain their full harmony.
Le Brun’s vault thus becomes fully legible again. Considered the “Sistine Chapel of French art,” it celebrates the victories and exploits of the Sun King during the Franco-Dutch War. Each scene, enriched with references to antiquity and exotic details-such as a samurai suit of armor, a symbol of the kingdom’s openness to the world-is accompanied by a trompe-l’oeil cartouche with texts by Racine and Boileau, authors called upon to clarify and amplify the political and cultural message of the whole. This renovation of the Gallery of Mirrors allows visitors to admire it as it must have appeared to the eyes of the Sun King’s court: now visitors can embrace the entire height of the room with a single glance and will naturally be drawn upward to the ceilings, whose lighting has also been completely renovated.
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| The Mirror Gallery at Versailles regains its closest look to its original appearance |
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