Château de Versailles Magazine, From the Ancien Régime to the present day

N°49 (April-May-June 2023)

Dossier: Venice and Versailles mirror effects

Shining with a thousand lights

To perfect the decorations and the numerous events he wished to offer in his palace, Louis XIV called upon the best artists and the most renowned technicians of his time. The Grand Gallery was thus decorated with mirrors whose technique was directly derived from the long tradition of

Venice. When demonstrations were offered on the Grand Canal, the Serenissima was also called upon for its art of gondolas and pleasure ships. In these and many other areas, the Venetian example served as a model. The Sun King, and later his successors, worked to perpetuate and even perfect this quality, which was the envy of all European monarchs.

(David Chanteranne, editor of Château de Versailles. From the Ancien Régime to the Present)