versailles and AntiquityExhibition from 13 November 2012 to 17 March 2013

versailles was a new rome in several ways : in its impressive size, its ambition to endure through the centuries, and its many references to the great models of antiquity. in the 17th century, antiquity was an impassable absolute, with which the most ambitious monarchs wished to rival : louis xiv created versailles as the seat of power to revive that ancient greatness.

antiquity is first and foremost a collection of works, material and artistic evidence, relics of a lost glorious civilisation that all the powerful rulers of the 17th century coveted. more than any other european monarch, louis xiv sought to acquire the most prestigious ancient pieces or have them copied. versailles was their sanctuary: statues and busts in the state apartments and gardens, cameos and medals and small bronzes in the king’s study. the collection at versailles provides the vision of antiquity recreated for the glory of the king.

the exhibition will mark the return to versailles of nearly fifty ancient pieces where they were originally displayed during the ancien régime. the interpretation of antiquity and ancient mythology will be evoked by approximately two hundred works from major french and foreign collections: sculptures, paintings, drawings, engravings, tapestries, furniture pieces and objets d’art.

through this exhibition, the public will be able to discover how antiquity influenced all areas of art, as well as the fascination for the gods and heroes of mythology and ancient history.

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1. Lower Stone Gallery

Presence of Antiquity at Versailles

For the first time since the French Revolution, the most prestigious ancient sculptures which adorned the palace and gardens during the Ancien Régime will return to Versailles. At the entrance to the exhibition, one of the most spectacular statues is that of Isis, which once stood in the rotunda of the Orangerie. Also on display in the Lower Gallery, on high pedestals and alternating with yew trees, are the eight sculptures currently known to have stood in the Salle des Antiques grove. Beyond, the Muses which were once part of the scenery of the gardens of Marly also form a group.

The showpieces are grouped together at the foot of the staircase: the Diana of Versailles, part of the royal collections since the 16th century, the Venus of Arles, given by the city of Arles to Louis XIV, the Apollo Lyceus, purchased in 1680, and, acquired after a hard-fought struggle from Rome in 1686, the Cincinnatus and the Germanicus Savelli.

versailles,A NEW rOME

1. Isis ancient statue, marble2. Venus of Arlesstatue, marble, late 1st century BC3. Diana of Versailles statue, marble2nd century AD

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room 2(see map)

THE PALACE OF THE SUN

Louis XIV turned Versailles into a genuine palace of the Sun, the dwelling place of Apollo exercising his beneficial influences on earth. According to a view of the world inherited from Ancient times, the harmonious connection between the seasons, the elements and the planets, are represented in the décor of the palace and gardens of Versailles. In the middle of the room, Latona and her children, Apollo and Diana, is a group from the main fountain in the gardens. It portrays the protection granted by Jupiter, king of the gods, to Latona who, according to the myth, implored Jupiter for help.

The four paintings of the seasons adorned the great room at the royal pavilion in Marly. In ancient tradition, each season was symbolised by a mythological deity: Flora for spring, Ceres for summer, Bacchus for autumn and Aeolus for winter. These four paintings are reunited at Versailles for the first time. The four finest French painters of the time were asked to create these paintings: Antoine Coypel, Louis II de Boullogne, Charles de La Fosse and Jean Jouvenet. Summer is in Rouen, Autumn in Dijon and the last two Seasons, Spring and Winter, were deposited by the Louvre at the Promenade Museum of Marly-le-Roi-Louveciennes. These four paintings are reunited at Versailles for the first time.

4. Cincinnatus Savelli statue, marble 2nd century AD 5. Latona by Gaspard and Balthasar Marsy, 1668 - 1670, group sculpted in marble

6. Bacchus and Ariadne, or Autumnby Charles de la Fosse, 1699 - 1700, oil on canvas

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room 3 Ancient Heroes and Heroines

The great men of Antiquity served as models for the monarchs of Versailles. That is why the figures of Alexander the Great as well as Trajan, Augustus, Severus Alexander or Cyrus, the renowned king of Persia, can be found in the Palace’s décor.

The famous women of Antiquity were not forgotten at Versailles. Numerous heroines are also represented in the archivolts of the State Apartment of the Queen. At the far end of the room, a monumental painting by Rubens portrays Tomyris, Queen of the Scythians, who defeated Cyrus and had his decapitated head plunged into a vase filled with blood, telling him to drink his fill. This painting was displayed behind the royal throne in the Apollo Salon at Versailles as a warning to the king, encouraging him to moderate his thirst to conquer. Given that Versailles was a summary of the ancient world, all of the main cities were represented there in the works and décors: Rome, as well as Babylon and Rhodes, which are evoked by monumental tapestries.

7. Tomyris, Queen of the Scythians Massagets, has the head of Cyrus plunged into a vase filled with blood by Pierre-Paul Rubens, 1620 - 1625, painting, oil on canvas8. Hanging of the Story of Alexander after the cartoons by Charles Le Brun conserved at the Louvre, the entry of Alexander into Babylon or the Triumph of Alexander circa 1670, Manufacture des Gobelins, wool, silk, gold and silver

9. Tapestry: Apollo on Mount Parnassus by Jean Lefebvre in the style of Pierre Mignard, 1692 - 1701, high-warp tapestry workshop of the Manufacture des Gobelins, wool, silk and gold10. Turquin blue marble vase by Valerio Furgone, circa 1683 - 1684 or 1686 - 1692

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10room 4Mount Parnassus

The theme of Apollo and the muses on Mount Parnassus is used to evoke the protection the French monarch granted to artists and Versailles is its most beautiful reflection. The great tapestry of Mount Parnassus, created after Mignard, shows an element of the gallery of the Château de Saint-Cloud, residence of the brother of Louis XIV. It adorned the antechamber of the Grand Couvert at Versailles. The muses were also present in the décor of the Ambassadors’ staircase, the grand ceremonial staircase of the Palace of Versailles. The great cartoons of the muses Euterpe and Melpomene were projects for this décor which was unfortunately destroyed in the mid-18th century. According to a preliminary project, the water parterre in front of the Palace’s façade was supposed to illustrate Apollo reigning on Mount Parnassus, and overseeing world order, symbolized by a display of allegories.

room5Ancient Materials

The influence of Antiquity has not limited itself to the subjects of the works and décors; it has extended to the materials used, such as marble, bronze, alabaster, porphyry, making Versailles a new Rome. The porphyry and ancient yellow marble vases displayed in this room were part of the décor of the Hall of Mirrors. The one made of Turquin blue marble was in the War Room. The watercolours are in keeping with the coloured marble wall panels of the Bath apartment, which was located on the ground floor of the Palace’s central building. Coloured marble was also used in the gardens, as illustrated by the Colonnade grove, represented in gouache by Cotelle, as well as numerous bronze sculptures, such as the two copies in ancient style, casted by Keller, from the Orangerie.

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CONTINUED

MAP1 - Lower stone GalleryPresence of Antiquity at Versailles

2 - The Constantine roomThe Palace of the Sun

3 - The Morocco roomHeroes and Heroines of Antiquity

4 - First Crimea roomMount Parnassus

5 - Second Crimea roomAncient Materials

6 - Small Gallery Sculptures inspired by Antiquity

7 - Third Crimea roomGallant Mythology

8 - Fourth Crimea roomPermanence of Antiquity in the 18th century

9 - The Smalah Corridor

10 - The Smalah roomThe Grand ProjectAncient-style celebrations

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Room 6Sculptures Inspired by Antiquity

Ancient sculpture was a source of constant inspiration for the artists of Versailles and Marly. For the gardens of the satellite residence of Versailles, Louis XIV ordered the creation of an original programme around Diana and her companions: among others, Flamen, a sculptor, successively created the groups of Diana and Callisto. Also for Marly, in order to compose a group of figures running, Lepautre copied a famous ancient sculpture portraying Atalanta and Coustou sculpted Hippomenes chasing her. Two statues of Venus Callipyge (Venus of the beautiful buttocks) were copied, one for Versailles, the other for Marly, from one of the most famous ancient models: they do however have some rather significant variations; one of them has a modest veil covering her buttocks.

Room 7Gallant Mythology From the end of the 17th century, Gallant Mythology was particularly popular at Versailles, as well as in the décors of the Grand Trianon and the Château de Meudon, residence of the Grand Dauphin, son of Louis XIV. The main deities of Gallant Mythology are Venus and Cupid. Psyche and Cupid constitute the theme of the great tapestry created after Jules Romain, which adorned the Salon des Nobles of the Queen’s State Apartment in the 18th century. The preliminary model for the décor of the vault in the Hercules Salon depicts an amorous aspect of the myth: after his death, Hercules was welcomed on Mount Olympus by Jupiter, who presented him with his future wife, the beautiful Hebe, goddess of youth.

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Room 8 Permanence of Antiquity in the 18th century

Giving into a new fashion, the main figures of the court had their portraits painted dressed up as mythological figures: Nattier depicted Madame de Pompadour, Louis XV’s mistress, as Diana the Huntress holding a bow, as well as the king’s daughters, depicted as Diana or Flora.

With their medallions portraying the muses, the monumental woodwork illustrates the revival of ancient forms and themes in the last third of the 18th century. That rediscovered fondness of the nobility of ancient forms is also magnificently illustrated by the five pairs of gilded bronze andirons placed in the fireplaces.

11. Callisto by Anselme Flamen, 1696, group, marble12. Atalanta by Pierre Lepautre, 1703-1704, statue, marble13. Iris and Morpheus René Antoine Houasse, 1688-1689, painting, oil on canvas

14. The Cabinet of the Muses (Calliope) attributed to the studio of Jules Hugues Rousseau and his brother Jean Siméon Rousseau, circa 1785, carved and painted wood 15. Mme de Pompadour as DianaJean-Marc Nattier, oil on canvas

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1717Room 9 The Grand Project

At Versailles, the penchant for antiquity was such that Louis XVI considered almost entirely rebuilding the palace he had inherited from his predecessors. The projects presented show that the new Versailles was to surpass the colossal size of the monuments of ancient Rome. That dream was compromised by the financial crisis which would overcome the monarchy.

Room 10Ancient Style Celebrations

The impressive ancient-style colonnade presented on the table is in reality a centrepiece used to adorn a banquet table. This extraordinary object was used for the wedding feast of the future Louis XVI to Archduchess Marie-Antoinette, on 17 May 1770. Many of the 1770 wedding festivities took place at the Royal Opera of the Palace of Versailles, which had recently been built. One of the stage scenery projects for this performance venue, enlarged for the exhibition, shows an ancient triumphal arch and rostral column. In this way, Antiquity was present even on stage, for the enjoyment of the monarchs and court of Versailles.

16. Barometer of Louis XV or Great Barometer of Louis XV and Louis XVI Jean-Joseph Lemaire, sculptor; Mazière, gilder; and Toré, optician, 1772 - 1776, carved and gilded oak, ebony-plated walnut

17. Centrepiece from the wedding of the Dauphin Anonymous, attributed to the Beurdeley House, Royal porcelain factory of Sevres, 1769 - 1770, soft paste, entablature made of porcelain bisque, gilded bronze, mirror, marble from the 19th century

LE MAGAZINE

Useful information:The exhibition runs from 13 November 2012 to 17 March 2013Daily, except Mondays, 9 am – 5:30 pm(last admission at 5 pm)The exhibition is open to visitors with Passeport or Palace tickets Free for European Union residents under the age of 26.

Exhibition Catalogue Co-published with ArtlysAvailable at the museum shops and www.boutique-chateauversailles.fr

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Game BookletFor children ages 6-12Available at information points.

Dans ce tableau de René-Antoine Houasse, intitulé Minerve enseigne l’art de la sculpture aux Rhodiens, sept petites erreurs se sont glissées.

Ouvre l’œil et repère-les !

Le Jeu des 7 erreurs

Game booklet is free

336 pages,250 illustrations € 50Available in bookstores as of 28 November

The exhibition is organised by the Public Establishment of the Palace, Museum and National Estate of Versailles. With the exceptional contribution of the Louvre Museum.

In media partnership with

Opening Times

The Palace is open daily, except Mondays and certain public holidays, or during official ceremonies:high season 9 am – 6:30 pm, Last admission: 6 pm.low season 9 am – 5:30 pm, Last admission: 5 pm.

Graphic Design

Information and Communication Department, Palace of VersaillesGraphic design: Des Signes, Paris.

Credits

© JM. Manaï© Christian Milet© RMN - Grand Palais (Musée du Louvre) René-Gabriel Ojéda© RMN - Grand Palais (Musée du Louvre) Gérard Blot© RMN - Grand Palais (Château de Versailles) Gérard Blot© RMN - (Musée du Louvre) Les frères Chuzeville© RMN- Grand Palais (Musée du Louvre) Hervé Lewandowski© Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon. Photo François Jay© RMN-Grand Palais (Château de Versailles) Christian Jean Jean Schormans© RMN-Grand Palais (Château de Fontainebleau) Gérard Blot© RMN-Grand Palais (Musée du Louvre) Jean Schormans

The Public Establishment of the Palace, Museum and National Estate of VersaillesRP 834 – 78 008 Versailles cedexInformation and reservations at +33 (0)1 30 83 78 00www.chateauversailles.fr

The Palace of Versailles presents

VERSAILLES & AntiquityExhibition From 13 November 2012 to 17 March 2013 Open daily, except Mondays, 9 am – 5:30 pm, last admission at 5 pm

Information and reservations on +33 (0)1 30 83 78 00

www.chateauversailles.fr