The Louvre and Versailles: The Evolution of the Prototypical Palace in the Age of Absolutism

Description

Join Christopher Tadgell for a talk and book event celebrating his recent publication The Louvre and Versailles: The Evolution of the Prototypical Palace in the Age of Absolutism.

In tracing the evolution of the Louvre from fortress to palace and of Versailles from hunting domain to dynastic capital, detailed architectural analysis and profuse illustration of many projects – external and internal, realised and unrealised – is set in the context of the development of the medieval monarchy towards absolutism, of the development of the mediaeval chateau towards precedents for the seat of absolutism, and of the effect of the French monarchy’s financial incontinence on the realisation of royal building ambitions. On the basis of exhaustive original research, recalling contemporary testimony and re-examining the works themselves, the book challenges received opinion on the introduction of Hispano-Burgundian court etiquette to French palace design, relates the court front of Lescot’s Renaissance Louvre to the iconography of apotheosis, revises the current ordering of François Mansart’s designs for the east front and reassesses the subsequent contribution of Claude Perrault to the completion of that east front.

Thorough examination of the development of Versailles ranges from the conception of the vast landscape addressed by the Galerie des Glaces at the head of Louis XIV’s state apartments, with which Le Vau and Jules Hardouin Mansart enveloped the original hunting lodge, to the evolution of the grand chapel and on to the increasing concern with comfort and convenience which led to incessant changes to the private facilities for Louis XV. Against these costly exercises, the recurrent concerns of this second part are checks to the evolution of Ange-Jacques Gabriel’s plans for rebuilding the entire town side of the palace to satisfy the enlightened taste of his master – which admitted the influence of Bernini’s third Louvre project on the definitive scheme. Finally, the book looks at the influence of the great French palaces on those seeking to emulate their ambition, from Stockholm in the late 17th century to the deliriously opulent late 19th-century palace of Ludwig II of Bavaria at Herrenchiemsee.

Date

Location

Courtauld Institute of Art
Vernon Square Campus
Penton Rise
London
WC1X 9EW

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