Versailles

In 1664 King Louis XIV decided that the King of France needed the proper Palace, so he decided to convert his father’s hunting lodge of Versailles, a swampy unimpressive sight, into what turned out to be one of the most impressive Baroque gardens and palaces of all times. The building began and after many years Versailles became the King’s permanent home. King Lois also decided, in 1682, that all of the French nobles had to move to Versailles as well because he wanted to be surrounded by glory and status. Therefore he also moved his entire government to Versailles because he deemed it had become a place from which the King could govern his people. The nobles had to do anything and everything that Lois told them to, even dressing the King, because all ability to gain favor was in the hands of the King. The King also wanted the nobles there so he could keep an eye on them. This was an attempt to avoid another Fronde, the civil war in which a rebellious faction representing the parliament of Paris opposed the crown when Lois XIV was very young. This was always something that he was concerned about happening again, so he took every precaution against it. He wanted the nobles to understand that they needed to gain favor in his eyes to get want the wanted, not rebel. The courtiers were so busy trying to please Louis and out rank one another that they did not have time to go off on their own lands in the country and being raising armies to usurp the king. They would do this because they were always trying to stay in the King’s good graces. One of the things that Versailles did was it opened Louis life up to the nobles; the nobles would help Louis dress in the morning, they would watch him eat and compliment him and his power, the nobles would follow him about during the day, and then help hum undress in the evening.  This meant that if the King didn’t know you, you were no one to be known. To see and be seen was everything. This was the political point of Versailles.

Versailles was also used to promote the wonderment of France itself by employing France’s best artists and putting them on display for all to see: the best painters painted portraits, the best sculptors worked on some of the grandest fountains in the world (Apollo Fountain as seen in figure at right).

This was in an effort to be better than Italy which was, and still is, known for some of the best artists. King Lois XIV wanted to display himself in this art in the most powerful way to show off his greatness. This was often done by having himself represented in Greek mythology, depicting him as the Sun god, Apollo.  The earth revolves around the sun and France and the rest of Europe revolves around King Louis. The parties that were thrown in the Versailles gardens were a tremendous circus in celebration of the king. The parties intended to show the nobility and the rest of Europe how powerful the King of France was. The parties were intended for the masses and were meant to impress. This meant that there were fireworks, rides in gondolas on the canal, balls for three thousand people under the stars, plays, and ballets.

King Lois XIV wanted to show off what wonderful artist he had how superior his court and culture were to every other court in Europe.  Yet another way that Versailles was used for pageantry of aristocracy was by creating temporary stages and areas suitable as outdoor theaters for the actual dramas. Both the gardens and the house were to be open to the public so that they could admire the grandeur of both Lois and France. To assert his authority and maintain his position he had to do display his wealth and power and intimidate people into submission.

Versailles was the great political, social, power center of France. It was the networking center of France for the government was located there and it was where the best parties were to be found. It was the Palace that would be known for the rest of history (proved by this very post).

Sources:

Versailles: The Dream of a King   Parts 1-4

Landscape Design, A Cultural and Architectural History (Rogers, p168-179)

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