King Louis XIV of France strolls through the famous Hall of Mirrors at Versailles. Sparkling crystal chandeliers tower above his wigged head, as well as the vaulted ceiling, 40 feet in height and covered in extravagant murals idolizing him as the Sun King. Seventeen giant mirrors, the height of luxury in 17th century France, reflect the opulent gardens outside, which the King admires from the stunningly large windows opposite the mirrors. Gilt bronze statuettes of Greek-style figures hold small crystal chandeliers, bathing the entire hall in the warm glow of candlelight. This hall, and this entire palace, is the ultimate display of the wealth and opulence of the King, and secretly, a trap for the French nobles.
After the death of his father in 1643, young King Louis XIV was handed his monarchical title of king at the ripe age of 4. Of course, the toddler did not have the actual responsibilities of a king; those were left to his mother, the regent Queen Anne of Austria, and Cardinal Jules Mazarin. And it was a good thing, for young Louis could not possibly handle the nearly fragmented France torn by the noble-led civil war known as the Fronde, born from the tension between the power of the monarchy and the power of the nobility. As the King grew older, though he had not the responsibilities of kingship, he understood the calamity of how delicate the Fronde made the monarchy. This fear would lead to his rule of absolutism, his choice of emblem as the Sun King, and the upgrade of his family’s hunting lodge into Versailles.
The reason King Louis chose Versailles as his home, rather than the Parisian Tuileries Palace, can be attributed mainly to his doctrine of absolutism and a deep mistrust of the nobles forged by his traumatic childhood memories of the Fronde. Absolutism refers to his shocking decline of ruling alongside a chief minister, as was tradition, and his declaration that God had endowed him with a divine right to rule. Essentially, to oppose Louis was to oppose God Himself. To cement his place as monarch amongst the nobility, he imposed an incredibly strict code of court etiquette for the courtiers. Nobles clamored to witness the ceremonies of the King’s everyday routine: the getting-up ceremony, the going-to-bed ceremony, the morning processional, and others. This meant that daily, up to 100 noblemen would watch the King eat, shave, get dressed, and even defecate: a nicer way of saying that they would watch him go number 2 (and even consider it a privilege)! All of this pompous court etiquette was a clever scheme by Louis to ensure that the nobles held him in absolute respect by not daring to lose the privilege of witnessing his daily routine by any rebellious actions.
The palace itself embodies the essence of King Louis’ self-chosen title as the Sun King. Over the years between 1678 and 1715, architects, artists, gardeners, and many leading French figures in the arts brought to life Louis’ vision of transforming his family’s hunting Chateau into an extravagant palace. Landscaper André Le Nôtre would design the many fountains, geometric greens, symmetric flower beds, statues, and canals of the magnificent garden preceding the castle. King Louis also ordered the planting of a large orange tree grove, the Orangerie, and a palace zoo for exotic animals. Famous painter Charles Le Brun led the interior decorating effort, even painting many of the palace’s murals himself. Under his guidance, the rooms were given no shortage of gold embellishments, delicate statuettes, exquisite chandeliers, and marble carvings. After several expansions, the palace could house a court of up to 10,000 or more. And indeed, it did house the entire court, as planned by King Louis, who was paranoid of any plot of rebellion.
After the French Revolution of 1790, the palace was abandoned by the monarchy indefinitely, though briefly inhabited by Napoleon as his summer residence. In 1837, by order of King Louis-Philippe, the palace was declared the Museum of the History of France, a title which it still retains today. Museum or palace, the building remains as a testament to the opulence of the Sun King’s reign, with intriguing insight into how he kept the nobility under his thumb.
Works Cited
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