Louis-philippe and versailles - 6 October 2018 3 February 2019 - #LouisPhilippeVersailles - Château de Versailles
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louis-philippe
and versailles
6 October 2018
3 February 2019
#LouisPhilippeVersailles
Press contacts Hélène Dalifard, Aurélie Gevrey, Violaine Solari +33 (0) 1 30 83 75 21 presse@chateauversailles.fr presse.chateauversailles.fr Follow us on: chateauversailles.fr
« What Louis Philippe has done at Versailles is a grAND thing. (...) to have put a GrEAT idea into a GrEAT building, to have placed the present in the past, 1789 ALONGSIDE 1688, the emperor in the house of the king Napoleon in the house of Louis XIV; in short, to have given this magnificent book that we call the history of France the magnificent binding that we call Versailles. » Victor Hugo Pages numbered III, in Complete Works
4
contents
Press release p.6
Preface by Catherine Pégard p.8
Foreword by Laurent Salomé p.9
background p.11
Chronology p.12
King Louis-Philippe’s family p.15
louis-philippe’s versailles p.17
Visitor tour p.18
The Crusades Rooms p.20
The Exhibition p.21
The Coronation Room p.36
The 1792 Room p.38
The Battle Gallery p.39
The Statue Gallery p.40
The Consulate and Empire Rooms p.41
Theatre scenery spotlighted p.42
The royal family’s living quarters in the Grand Trianon
p.46
in connection with the
exhibition p.51
Exhibition catalogue p.52
Other publications p.53
For further information p.54
exhibition patrons p.57
exhibition
partners p.63
beyond the exhibition p.69
Detail of decoration The Gothic Palace. Palace of Versailles © Palace of Versailles / Jean-Marc Manaï
practical information p.73
king Louis-Philippe AND
Versailles
6 October 2018 - 3 February 2019
Versailles, 5 October 2018.
For the first time, the Palace of Versailles is devoting a major exhibition to Louis-Philippe, who turned the former
royal residence into a museum dedicated "to all the glories of France". The exhibition recalls a decisive moment
in the history of Versailles, which began a new life from that moment forward. It also emphasises the king’s direct
involvement in the project, his love of history and his desire to portray the history of France.
For the occasion, 32 rooms of the 19th-century museum, not usually accessible to the public, will be specially opened,
giving an additional 4,656 m2 where visitors can discover one of the little-known aspects of the Palace of Versailles.
As heir to the Orléans family, King Louis-Philippe had
little in the way of historic ties with the Versailles of the
Ancien Régime. Nevertheless, as soon as he acceded to the
throne in 1830, he showed a strong interest in the Palace
and worked to transform it into a national monument.
His aim was certainly to reconcile the French people with
each other, but above all to ensure that his reign left its
mark in the country’s history.
From that time, two Versailles lived alongside one another.
The royal residence in the central section with the restored
and refurnished State Apartments, which conserved their
names and their uses. The former monarchy was recalled
above all in the King's Apartments, the King’s Bedchamber
marking the apogee of the visit. Elsewhere, in the North
and South Wings, considerable works were undertaken.
Louis Philippe created History Galleries from one end of
the Palace to the other, thus interspersing the visit with
King Louis Philippe and his sons leaving by the Honour Gate of the Palace of Versailles
after reviewing the troops in the courtyard, 10 June 1837, Horace Vernet, 1846, Musée major groups of paintings: the Gallery of Battles, from
National des Châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon Tolbiac to Wagram, the Estates-General Room and the
© RMN-GP (Palace of Versailles) / Daniel Arnaudet
1792 Room, Napoleon’s Coronation Chamber, mirrored
The exhibition is presented in the Africa Rooms where the by the 1830 Room glorifying the new monarch, and finally
paintings commissioned by Louis Philippe are unveiled to the Crusades Rooms and Africa Rooms that remained
the public. In addition, it offers a genuine immersion in unfinished in 1848 with the fall of the July monarchy.
19th-century Versailles. For example, several theatre sets
are presented on the stages of the Palace and the Trianon, To implement this project, the Palace architect, Frédéric
including that made for the inauguration of the History Nepveu, drew inspiration from the decorative vocabulary
Galleries, on 10 June 1837, placed on the stage of the of the State Apartments, but used new techniques, for
Royal Opera House. The public can also lose themselves example the metal structure that enabled the monumental
in the Crusades Rooms, in the Coronation Chamber and Gallery of Battles to receive natural lighting.
the 1792 Room – both restored for the occasion – and The choice of pictures at Versailles underlined Louis
in the Consulate and Empire Rooms. Visitors can also Philippe’s political attitudes: his education had given
discover the Statue Galleries as they were at the time, since him a heightened awareness of history, accentuated by
the original busts and the Louis-Philippe chandeliers have the French Revolution and the Romantic leanings of
been reinstalled. the period. The numerous works he commissioned thus
illustrate history through events, interspersed with great
exhibition curator Scenography
Valérie Bajou, Head Curator at the Palace of Versailles Hubert le Gall
6
View of the Gallery of Battles © Palace of Versailles / Thomas Garnier
names. He brought French heroes to life again, from
Pharamond right up to the most recent events when he
took power and became king. By transforming the former
Bourbon residence into a museum open to the public, the
king confirmed his educational view of a Palace where the
paintings would be read like a picture book, accompanied
by a political message. Versailles was no longer only a
place for remembrance, it had become a place for learning.
The royal family in front of the statue of Joan of Arc, Auguste Vinchon, 1848,
Musée National des Châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon
© Palace of Versailles, Dist RMN / Jean-Marc Manaï
Capture of the Smala of Abd-el-Kader by the Duke of Aumale at Taguin, 16 May 1843,
Horace Vernet, 1843-1845, Musée National des Châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon
© RMN-GP (Palace of Versailles) / Gérard Blot / Hervé Lewandowski
with the patronage of: exhibition in media partnership
p with:
and with contributions from:
7
preface
by catherine pégard
President of the Établissement Public du
Château, du Musée et du Domaine National
de Versailles
As always – although perhaps somewhat intermittently Opera House, the prodigious set commissioned for
– Versailles appears to be the essence, the reflection and the performance given during the inauguration of the
the setting for the power, convictions or dreams of he museum on 10 June 1937, and by refurnishing Louis
who occupies it. With King Louis Philippe, it became Philippe’s Private Apartment in the Grand Trianon,
the very illustration of the transition that the king, the Palace of Versailles’ curators have greatly extended
traumatised and enlightened by his own story – at the their evocation of the works carried out during the July
meeting of two worlds – wanted to impose. Monarchy.
Even if he was not concerned with saving the Palace of Much remains to be done to make the museum more
Versailles by means of ambitious works, Napoleon gave understandable. However – and this is not the least
up on the idea of upsetting the doubly-troublesome merit of the work carried out by Valérie Bajou and all
history of the place where Revolution overcame royalty. those who have made the exhibition catalogue such
Right from the start of his reign, but already with a little a profuse and nuanced kaleidoscope of intermingled
more perspective, King Louis Philippe indicated his stories – there would be no incongruity if today’s visitors,
desire to use the royal residence differently: as a museum stopping in the Hall of Mirrors or the Gallery of Battles,
open to all, at the same time establishing it, like Louis should be equally astonished, if for different reasons.
XIV, in the image of his reign. Historian François Furet’s statement that Louis Philippe
failed because “he was too Monarchist to be Republican
With the first major exhibition that Versailles has and too Republican to be Monarchist” cannot be applied
devoted to the biggest transformation in its history, therefore to the changes made at Versailles.
curator Valérie Bajou leads us inside the “magnificent”
book, so highly praised by Victor Hugo at the
inauguration of the museum devoted “to all the glories
of France”. After an insatiable quest through the world’s
greatest museums to find works which, besides those
from the Palace of Versailles collections, bear witness
to the personal choices made by the king day after day,
Valérie Bajou offers us the story of a period that is little-
known, neglected or even forgotten. But the exhibition
does even better than that, providing the challenging
pretext for opening the 19th-century galleries, too
often unknown to the public. It required everybody’s
involvement to bring back to life the historical rooms –
created by Louis Philippe beside the royal apartments to
link, in images, his time to the past – for this occasion.
Our desire to open up ever more of the Palace of
Versailles – a commitment which is, when all is said and
done, a continuation of Louis-Philippe’s own wishes – is
encouraged by support from our patrons. I would like
to express my gratitude to the two French companies,
Plastic Omnium and Axa, who have made possible the
restoration of the Coronation Chamber.
By reinstalling ensembles that had disappeared, like
the Sculpture Gallery dedicated to Louis XIV in the
South Wing, by presenting, on the stage of the Royal
8
foreword
by laurent salomé
Director of the Musée National des Châteaux
de Versailles et de Trianon
Trying to understand King Louis-Philippe’s huge, were less troubled, even nostalgic.
unprecedented undertaking at Versailles involves an
exercise of a rare complexity, where the perpetual The part of the History Galleries situated within the
reflection makes one’s head spin, where the real and the Royal Apartments is naturally that which appears the
imaginary are completely intermingled. In the French most absurd to us today. They were furnished rapidly at
king’s Versailles, objects mutate, walls move, styles the time without worrying about historical exactitude,
clash to create new, hybrid shapes, sometimes a little faithful refurnishing being in any case impossible
monstrous. so soon after the dispersals carried out during the
History finds itself in an immense, spectacular temple, Revolution. But what improbable mixtures, what
but a somewhat strange divinity is glimpsed behind incredible extrapolations were made so that today we
its thousand stories and its accumulated, reorganised do not know whether we should keep some of them as a
material witnesses. historical record. The most famous manifestation of this
Today, we clearly feel that the incomparable flavour is found in the thickly-scrolled neo-Louis XIV sculpted
of the whole comes from its arbitrary nature. It is easy decoration on the Jacob-Desmalter bed commissioned
for us to stand back, nearly two centuries after the for the King’s Bedchamber and completed by politically
July revolution. It was a quite different task to look unexpected textile furnishing, as shown later on. But,
at and portray, with only a few decades’ perspective, throughout the Palace, Louis Philippe’s museum uses
the most chaotic period of French history, to make a multitude of anachronistic ployants and torchères,
a reconciliatory synthesis of the country’s story at a creating an exquisite confusion that we have inherited
time when people had only just (and only temporarily) and which has become an integral part of modern-day
stopped killing each other. Versailles
Versailles’ double identity – palace and museum – is in
King Louis Philippe was certainly the man of the reality even more confused, because there are elements
moment, his personality reflecting all the ambiguities of museum in the reconstituted palace and palatial
of his time. The division in the royal family, which had elements in the History Galleries, to the extent that
become unbearable under Louis XVI, reflected that of today it is still difficult to distinguish those parts that
the nation. The son of Philippe-Égalité obviously wanted are royal residence and those that are purely museum.
to re-write history. Perhaps by going a long way back, And this is no doubt a very good thing in a place where
recent horrors could be put into perspective? Starting clarity and simplicity have never been at home. A further
from scratch was, paradoxically, the dream that emerged incongruity at Versailles, and one of the most delicious,
on looking at the great mass of past events, and the king lies in taking the Princes’ Staircase, the Queen’s Staircase
could even imagine himself as Pharamond, suddenly or the Statue Gallery, and revealing, practically intact,
lifted onto a shield to lead his people into a new era. the History Galleries that were Louis Philippe’s purest
Although his objective was to make the Palace into a creation, with their learned programme and their
museum, Louis Philippe nevertheless succeeded in the sumptuous decor: Gros and Vernet take the place of the
incredible feat of taking possession of it, where Napoleon Verberckts, and suddenly the epic spirit passes through
had given up. Louis Philippe used a sophisticated the apartments like a strong draught.
method, conserving a palatial part by reconstituting it
in order to exhibit works and tell the story while still All the choices that King Louis Philippe made for his
evoking its original use, i.e. by refurnishing it. museum throw a fascinating light on the king himself
Only the king and queen were spared, as princes’ and and on his time, and that is what makes this exhibition
courtiers’ apartments lost all their decoration to be used so relevant. [...]
as picture galleries. By eliminating the Ancien Régime
foundation, the royal presence was made acceptable
according to the new principles. It maintained a purely
symbolic royal couple, no longer a historical reality,
whereas efforts were made to re-establish this reality in
the Palace from the end of the 19th century, when people
9
Vessel belonging to the royal family, 1836-1837, Manufacture de Sèvres, Jean-Charles-François Leloy (1774-1846), Nicolas-Marie Moriot (1788-1852) et Louis-Honoré Boquet (1786-1860), Palace of Versailles © Palace of Versailles, (dist. RMN - Grand Palais / Christophe Fouin 10
partie XX
ICI
part I
Background
MON TITre
de partie
11part I
Chronology
1773 command of his regiment.
6 October: birth of Louis-Philippe of Orléans, Duke
of Valois, at the Palais-Royal. Through his father 1792
Louis Philippe-Joseph, he belonged to the Orléans 19 September: Louis-Philippe-Joseph, who has become
family (descendants of Philippe, Louis XIV’s younger Philippe-Égalité, father of Louis-Philippe and member of
brother). Through his mother, Louise Adélaïde de the Jacobins’ Club, is elected as a Deputy for Paris.
Bourbon-Penthièvre, he was the great grandson of the 20 September: Louis-Philippe takes part in the battle of
Count of Toulouse (son of Louis XIV and Athénaïs de Valmy.
Montespan). 6 November: Louis-Philippe takes part in the battle of
Jemmapes.
1778
Louis-Philippe and his brother Antoine-Philippe begin 1793
their education. 17 January: Philippe-Égalité votes for the death of Louis
XVI.
1782 5 April: departure of Louis-Philippe and Adélaïde for
5 January: Stéphanie de Genlis named as governess to Switzerland with Madame de Genlis.
the Orléans princes. 6 November: execution of Louis-Philippe-Joseph, Duke
of Orléans. Louis-Philippe, hitherto Duke of Chartres,
1786 becomes Duke of Orléans.
26 December: Louis-Philippe is presented to King Louis
XVI and the royal family at Versailles. 1795
Louis-Philippe travels through Germany and
1787 Scandinavia, going as far as the North Cape.
10 July: Louis-Philippe becomes a colonel.
1 September: Louis-Philippe meets his Chartres Infantry 1796
Regiment for the first time. Early September: Louis-Philippe sets off for America.
1788 1798
11 May: Louis-Philippe and his brother Louis-Antoine- 31 March: Louis-Philippe and his brothers arrive in
Philippe, Duke of Montpensier, are baptised at the Havana.
Royal Chapel of Versailles, in the presence of King Louis
XVI and Queen Marie-Antoinette, their godfather and 1799
godmother September: Louis-Philippe and his brothers arrive in the
Bahamas.
1789
1 January: Louis-Philippe is made a Knight of the Order 1800
of the Holy Spirit at Versailles. 27 January: Louis-Philippe and his brothers arrive in
9 February: Louis-Philippe, wearing National Guard Falmouth (Cornwall)
uniform, swears the civil oath in the Saint-Roch district, Early July: official reconciliation between Louis-Philippe
signing: “Chartres, citizen of Paris”. and Louis XVIII, then in exile in Prussia. Louis-Philippe
Louis-Philippe renounces his infantry regiment to take is given back his ranks and titles.
command of the Chartres Dragoons cavalry regiment, Autumn: the princes of Orléans set off for England.
which became the 14th Regiment of Dragoons.
6 October: end of Louis-Philippe’s education. 1802
November: The Marquis of Sillery presents Louis Autumn: Louis-Philippe begins writing his memoirs.
Philippe to the Jacobins’ Club. He is made a member of
the presentations committee, responsible for examining 1806
requests for membership. Beginning of the year: Louis-Philippe is approached by
Louis XVIII, then in exile in Courland, to negotiate his
1791 return to England as the legitimate king of France. The
15 June: Louis-Philippe arrives in Vendôme to take attempt fails.
121808
1 June: Louis-Philippe goes to Sicily with a view to 1820
meeting the Bourbon-Two Sicilies court. 1 January: birth of Louis-Philippe and Marie-Amélie’s
22 June: Louis-Philippe is presented to Queen Marie- fourth son, Charles-Ferdinand-Louis-Philippe, Duke of
Caroline and Princess Marie-Amélie. Penthièvre, in Paris.
14 August: Louis-Philippe leaves for England.
1822
1809 16 January: birth of Louis-Philippe and Marie-Amélie’s
20 July: Louis-Philippe returns to Palermo. fifth son, Henri-Eugène-Philippe-Louis, Duke of
26 November: celebration of the marriage between Aumale, at the Palais Royal.
Louis-Philippe and Marie-Amélie.
1824
1810 Organisation of an art exhibition in the salons of the
3 September: birth of Louis-Philippe and Marie-Amélie’s Palais Royal.
first son, Ferdinand-Philippe-Louis-Charles-Henri- 31 July: birth of Louis-Philippe and Marie-Amélie’s
Rosalin, Duke of Chartres. sixth son, Antoine-Marie-Philippe-Louis, Duke of
Montpensier, at Neuilly-sur-Seine.
1812 16 September: re-establishment of cordial relations
3 April: birth of Louise-Marie-Thérèse-Charlotte- between King Charles X and Louis-Philippe.
Isabelle of Orléans in Palermo. 19 September: Louis -Philippe is present at the
ceremony where Louis XVIII’s coffin is blessed with holy
1813 water at the Tuileries palace; the Duke of Orléans is re-
12 April: birth of Marie-Christine-Caroline-Adélaïde- established in terms of etiquette and ceremony.
Françoise-Léopoldine of Orléans at Palermo.
1828
1814 25 July: death of Louis Philippe and Marie-Amélie’s
20 May: order to restore the appanage of Louis-Philippe, fourth son, Charles-Ferdinand-Louis-Philippe, Duke of
particularly the residences of Monceau, the Palais Royal Penthièvre, at Neuilly-sur-Seine.
and Raincy.
4 June: Louis-Philippe moves into the Palais Royal. 1830
22 September: arrival of Louis-Philippe and Marie- 30 July: Marie-Amélie and Madame Adélaïde receive
Amélie, Duke and Duchess of Orléans, at the Palais a delegation at Neuilly calling upon Louis-Philippe to
Royal. become king or lieutenant general of the kingdom.
25 October: birth of Louis-Charles-Philippe-Raphaël 31 July: Louis-Philippe agrees to become lieutenant
d’Orléans, given the title of Duke of Nemours, at the general of the kingdom.
Palais Royal. 9 August: Louis-Philippe is proclaimed Louis-Philippe
I, king of France. His eldest son, Ferdinand Philippe,
1816 becomes Duke of Orléans and Prince Royal.
28 March: birth of the Duke and Duchess of Orléans’
third daughter, Françoise of Orléans, in Twickenham. 1831
May: the palaces of Saint Cloud and the Tuileries are
1817 declared crown residences.
3 June: birth of the Duke and Duchess of Orléans’ fourth 21 September: King Louis-Philippe and the royal family
daughter, Marie-Clémentine-Léopoldine-Caroline- take up residence at the Tuileries Palace.
Clotilde of Orléans, at Neuilly-sur-Seine.
1832
1818 9 August: marriage of Leopold I and Princess Louise of
14 August: birth of the Duke and Duchess of Orléans’ Orléans at the château of Compiègne.
third son, François-Ferdinand, Prince of Joinville, at 19 November: Louis-Philippe is the victim of a terrorist
Neuilly-sur-Seine. attack while crossing the Pont-Royal.
131833 the Château d’Eu.
19 June: Louis-Philippe makes his first official visit
to the Palace of Versailles, accompanied by architect 1844
Frédéric Nepveu. Twenty four visits to Versailles during the year.
8 to 14 October: official visit by King Louis-Philippe,
1834 accompanied by Antoine, Duke of Montpensier, and by
Twenty four visits to Versailles during the year. Start of Guizot, to Queen Victoria’s residence at Windsor Castle.
work in the South Wing. The king is made a Knight of the Order of the Garter.
1835 1845
Thirty visits to Versailles. Work in the South Wing and Thirty three visits to Versailles.
the Coronation Chamber. 8 September: Queen Victoria’s second official visit to
King Louis-Philippe at the Château d’Eu.
1836
Thirty one visits to Versailles. Construction of the 1846
Gallery of Battles. Twenty one visits to Versailles during the year.
1837 1847
Thirty five visits to Versailles. Twenty one visits to Versailles.
10 June: official inauguration of the museum of 10 December: Louis-Philippe’s 398th and final visit to
Versailles. Versailles to oversee the works in the History Galleries.
11 June: the museum of Versailles opens to the public.
18 October: celebration of the marriage between Marie 1848
of Orléans and Prince Alexander of Württemberg at the 24 February: Louis-Philippe and Marie-Amélie arrive at
Grand Trianon. Dreux via Saint Cloud and Versailles.
29 October – November: Louis-Philippe and the royal 2 March: Louis-Philippe and Marie-Amélie leave for
family stay at the Grand Trianon England. Louis-Philippe takes the title of Count of
Neuilly.
1838 4 March: Louis- Philippe and Marie-Amélie move into
Thirty two visits to Versailles. Work starts in the North Claremont House in Surrey.
Wing. 3 April: Queen Victoria visits Claremont.
9 May: Louis-Philippe visits Queen Victoria.
1839 17 May: Queen Victoria visits Claremont.
6 January: death of Marie of Orléans, Duchess of
Württemberg, Louis-Philippe’s second daughter. 1849
Twenty five visits to Versailles during the year. 10 June: Queen Louise of Belgium visits Claremont.
June: the Duchess of Orléans and her son, the Count of
1840 Paris, visit Claremont.
Twenty six visits to Versailles. 22 December: Queen Louise of Belgium visits
Claremont.
1841
Twenty four visits to Versailles. 1850
Beginning of the year: Louis-Philippe’s health begins to
1842 fail.
Thirty visits to Versailles during the year. 26 August: Louis-Philippe dies at Claremont. He
is buried on 2 September in the Catholic chapel of
1843 Weybridge.
Forty visits to Versailles.
September: beginning of the Entente Cordiale between
Louis-Philippe and Queen Victoria.
2-7 September: Queen Victoria makes an official visit topart I
king louis philippe’s
family
15Louis Philippe inaugurating the Gallery of Battles on 10 June 1837, Jean-François Heim (1787-1865), Palace of Versailles © Palace of Versailles, (dist. RMN - Grand Palais / Christophe Fouin
part II
Louis-
Philippe’s
Versaillespart II
visitor TOUr
For the first time, the Palace of Versailles is devoting a Visitors are then invited to continue their visit of the
major exhibition to King Louis-Philippe (1773-1850) Palace to discover the extent and the wealth of the huge
who, at the beginning of the 19th century, turned the museum designed by Louis Philippe: the Crusades
former royal residence into a museum dedicated to Rooms, Napoleon’s Coronation Room and the 1792
all the glories of France and open to all. Presented in Room, the Battle Gallery and the 1830 Room, and finally
the Africa and Crimea Rooms, built by Louis Philippe the Consulate and Empire Rooms, exceptionally open to
for his new museum, the exhibition has enabled us to the public for the duration of the exhibition.
display, exceptionally, the monumental canvases he
commissioned for these rooms.
garden level
Crusades Rooms
1
Consulate and Empire rooms Start of the
visit
The Royal Opera
House
From 30 September to 4
November 2018, presentation of
5 a theatre set on the stage: Marble
palace highlighted with gold,
built in 1837 by Paris Opera set
designer Pierre-Luc-Charles
Palace Entrance Cicéri for the performance given
at Versailles by Louis Philippe
for the inauguration of the
History Galleries.
5
181st floor:
2
Coronation Room and
Madame de Maintenon’s Chambers 3
Princes’ Staircase
The exhibition
Africa and Crimea
4 Rooms
4
The 1792 Room
The Battle Gallery and the 1830 Room
19part II
the crusades rooms
Louis-Philippe, the royal family and King Leopold I visiting the large Crusades Room in July 1844, 1845 Salon, Prosper Lafaye (1806-1883), Palace of Versailles
© Palace of Versailles, (dist. RMN - Grand Palais ) / Jean-Marc Manaï
Built under Louis-Philippe in the place occupied by Siege of Malta in September 1565 by Charles Philipppe
several courtiers’ apartments, the five Crusades Rooms Larivière. The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, 12 July 1212
contain numerous paintings commissioned from the by Horace Vernet is an episode in the reconquest of
greatest historical painters of the time. They depict the Spain, commissioned under the Restoration.
main episodes of the eight crusades (late 11th to late 13th
centuries). The works are presented in a neo-Gothic Specially for this exhibition, the National Museum of the
decor, both unusual and unexpected at Versailles, but Palace of Pau is lending Versailles the two chandeliers
highly characteristic of 19th-century Romantic taste. The made by Chaumont and Marquis for the large Crusades
coats of arms of the most illustrious crusaders have been Room in 1841 and sent by King Louis Philippe to
painted on the friezes and ceiling panels. Pau in 1846. Re-hung in their original locations for
the exhibition, these large gilded bronze chandeliers,
The third room presents the original door in carved decorated with knights in armour, are among the most
cedar and the bronze mortar from the Rhodes Hospice extraordinary creations in the first neo-Gothic style.
of the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem; these two
singular souvenirs dating from the early 16th century
were given to Louis Philippe by Sultan Mahmud II in
1836. In 1840, Eugène Delacroix painted his famous The
Crusaders entering Constantinople on 12 April 1204 for
this room.
Other paintings include: Acre being handed over to King
Philippe II of France and King Richard I of England, 13
July 1191 by Merry Joseph Blondel and The Lifting of the
20part II
The exhibition
Louis-Philippe and Versailles under the July Monarchy met the criteria expected of
official art and the exhibition highlights the motives of
In 1830, Louis-Philippe became king of France. Right this propaganda: how had the history of France been
at the start of his reign, he brought Versailles into the written and to what end? Louis Philippe showed his taste
crown domain and decided to transform the palace for eclecticism and the different artistic trends that he
in order to open it to the public. He realised that the had introduced into his private residences.
Versailles of Louis XIV was a legend that could only be
preserved by turning it into a museum dedicated “to all A multitude of stories retrace a unique history, because
the glories of France”, as proclaimed in the inscription Louis-Philippe preferred dialogue to denying the past.
on the pediments of the pavilions. The king appeared on The new Versailles reflected that of Louis XIV, in which
horseback with his sons in front of the gates of the Palace the Gallery of Battles is juxtaposed with the Hall of
of Versailles for the inauguration of the initial works on Mirrors, rivalling it in splendour and in its wealth of fine
10 June 1837. decoration. Fascinated by all the technical innovations
of the times, the king did not hesitate to introduce metal
An indefatigable worker, the king closely monitored the structures into the Gallery of Battles and the Africa
work of his architect Frédéric Nepveu for 15 years, until Rooms in order to illuminate these immense galleries
1847. Around the royal suite, in the heart of the palace, using natural light through glass roofs.
and in the North and South Wings, the project led to
the creation of History Galleries dedicated to medieval It is Louis Philippe’s Versailles – both eclectic and
battles, the crusades, revolutionary and imperial wars complex – that we know today.
and the conquest of Algeria. Thousands of paintings
were set into the panelling. The works commissioned
King Louis -Philippe surrounded by his five sons
leaving by the main gate of the Palace of Versailles
after reviewing the troops in the courtyard, 10 June
1837, 1846,
Horace Vernet (1789-1863),
Palace of Versailles
© RMN-Grand Palais (Palace of Versailles) / F. Raux
21The exhibition
Louis-Philippe, heir to the Ancien
régime?
Louis Philippe was born at the Palais-Royal in the heart
of Paris on 6 October 1773. Through his father Louis
Philippe-Joseph, he belonged to the Orléans family,
descendants of Philippe, Louis XIV’s younger brother.
Through his mother, Louise Adélaïde de Bourbon-
Penthièvre, he was the great grandson of the Count of
Toulouse, son of Louis XIV and Athénaïs de Montespan.
His father, Louis-Philippe-Joseph, was not an intimate
of Louis XVI’s court at Versailles. In Paris, in its Palais-
Royal residence, the Orléans family welcomed the
ideas of the Age of Enlightenment and the Revolution
that were fashionable at the time. Louis Philippe was
nevertheless born into princely surroundings, portrayed
by Nicolas Bernard Lépicié in an intimate scene. The
artist even made a preparatory drawing in order to
faithfully record the infant’s features. Louis-Jean-Marie de Bourbon, Duke of Penthièvre and his daughter Louise Marie
Adélaïde, 1768,
Jean-Baptiste Charpentier le Vieux (1728-1806), Palace of Versailles
Cousins of Louis XVI and his brothers the Count of © Palace of Versailles, (dist. RMN - Grand Palais / Christophe Fouin
Provence and the Count of Artois, Louis Philippe’s
parents were nevertheless portrayed with magnificence:
wearing the frock coat of the Order of the Holy Spirit,
Louis Philippe-Joseph is depicted by François Callet
with all the brilliance of a Prince of the Blood. Louise
Adélaïde, his mother, chose Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, a
fashionable artist much appreciated by Marie-Antoinette.
Her portrait emphasises her charm and refined elegance.
Forty years later, in both his private portraits and those
destined for the Palace of Versailles, Louis-Philippe also
knew how to balance the splendour of the portrayals
with noble simplicity.
Louis Philippe, Duke of Valois, in his cradle, 1774,
Nicolas Bernard Lépicié (1735-1784), Palace of Versailles
© Christophe Fouin
22The exhibition
Louis Philippe’s youth
From 1782 to 1789, Louis-Philippe’s education was
undertaken by Stéphanie-Félicité de Genlis, a follower
of Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s ideas. Like his cousins, Louis
XVI and Marie-Antoinette’s children, Louis-Philippe
learned history, geography, various languages, algebra,
natural science and botany. His education followed a
very strict, austere timetable in order to stop the young
prince being led into luxury and idleness. The teaching
was both practical and intellectual. Apart from using
models representing different types of manual work,
Madame de Genlis visited the capital’s main collections
of paintings as well as Jacques-Louis David’s studio,
where the artist had just finished Paris and Helen for the
Count of Artois. She also included physical exercise in
his education.
Louis-Philippe made few visits to Versailles. He was
baptised in the Royal Chapel at the Palace on 12 May
1788. On 5 May 1789, he was close to the royal family
at the opening of the Estates General, whereas his father
sat with the Deputies. Soon called Philippe-Égalité
(Equality), the Duke of Orléans was in favour of the
Revolution and even voted for Louis XVI to be put to
death. Louis-Philippe, then Duke of Chartres, took the
civic oath in February 1790 before joining the Jacobins’ Portrait of Stéphanie Félicité de Genlis, 1790, Adélaïde Labille-Guiard (1749-1803),
Club in November. He decided to take command of his Los Angeles County Museum of Art
© Los Angeles County Museum of Art
regiment at Vendôme in June 1791 then, accompanied
by his younger brother Montpensier, he joined the
Northern Army and took part in the battles of Valmy
and Jemmapes. In March 1793 Dumouriez’s treason
obliged him to leave France. He remained in exile for
more than 20 years, travelling around Europe and North
America under various assumed names.
His exile changed everything: after his father’s execution
in 1793, Louis Philippe, now Duke of Orléans, acquired
great political clear-sightedness and was able to analyse
the various European regimes and the forces behind
them.
Back in France during the Restoration, he commissioned
Model of a joinery workshop, 1783, François-Étienne Calla (1760/1762-1836), Paris,
a number of paintings from Horace Vernet, first a few Musée des Arts et Métiers
portraits depicting his exile in Switzerland, then the © Musée des arts et métiers - CNAM / Photo Sylvain Pelly
battles of Valmy and Jemmapes, which recalled his
patriotic and revolutionary commitment. The artist
suggested that these subjects should be completed by
two battles from the end of the Empire, Hanau and
Montmirail, in which the Duke of Orléans did not take
part. At the Palais Royal, this series was exhibited in
one of the ceremonial rooms. When he became king,
Louis Philippe had four copies made for the Palace of
Versailles: two are still there in the 1792 Room.
23The exhibition
Louis-Philippe’s exile
In 1795, Louis-Philippe travelled through Scandinavia portrayed with his travelling companions.
right up to the North Cape. Continuing the series of
episodes depicting his exile, he commissioned two The Directorate put pressure on Louis-Philippe to go
paintings from Auguste Biard for the Palais Royal: The to North America with his brothers Montpensier and
Duke of Orleans welcomed at a Lapp camp and The Duke Beaujolais. In February 1797 they found themselves in
of Orleans descending the great rapids of the Eijampaika. Philadelphia and travelled around the eastern United
The artist did not seek scientific realism, preferring States. The Duke of Orléan’s lack of affectation was
picturesque, exotic images, the isolation of the Arctic and appreciated in America, particularly when he replaced
man’s powerlessness in the face of the elements in a spirit the nobleman’s sword with an umbrella!
close to that of battle scenes: on the one hand, nature in
all its fury, on the other, the Duke of Orléans remaining During his exile, on 26 November 1809, Louis-Philippe
imperturbable among the rapids. married Marie-Amélie of Bourbon-Sicily in Palermo.
She was the daughter of Marie-Caroline, one of Marie-
Louis-Philippe had another opportunity to acquire Antoinette’s sisters, and Ferdinand IV, King of Naples.
works recalling his travels in the far north: in 1846, The newly-weds had in common the fact that they had
Danish artist Peder Balke asked him to look at his Nordic both been forced into exile.
landscapes. Louis-Philippe commissioned two paintings
from him, including View of North Cape, where he is
The Duke of Orléans descending the great rapids of the Eijampaïka on the river Muonio in Lapland in August 1795, 1841
Salon, François Auguste Biard (1798-1882),
Palace of Versailles
© RMN-Grand Palais (Palace of Versailles) / Franck Raux
24The exhibition
Louis-Philippe’s collection From 1824, the collection took a more innovative
direction: new names appeared, including Eugène
From 1817, Louis-Philippe, Duke of Orléans, built up Delacroix and Ary Scheffer, the Orléans children’s
a collection worthy of his rank, a demonstration of the drawing teacher. Louis-Philippe seized the opportunity
wealth and power that contributed to the pomp of a of the sales following the deaths of Géricault and Girodet
princely house. Unlike his forebears, he turned away to acquire some major works. He turned towards
from traditional painting, preferring contemporary art. landscape painting and was among the first to take an
interest in Bonington and Michalon.
After an initial predilection for the Lyon School, he
maintained a taste for meticulously painted scenes by Although Louis-Philippe’s collection exhibited at the
Étienne Bouhot and Martin Drolling. Soon, he was Palais-Royal under the Restoration represented a real
looking for genre paintings by young artists such as artistic opposition movement, how should we view the
Victor Schnetz and Auguste Couder. The artists brought Versailles collection? Because the artists called upon
back many simple, picturesque scenes from their travels by the Duke of Orléans in the 1820s were the same he
in Italy. But he really preferred scenes relating to his turned to when he became king fifteen years later for the
own history, particularly those by Horace Vernet. The History Galleries. The iconographic and artistic choices
Duke of Orléans bought all kinds of paintings. His enable us to understand Louis-Philippe’s taste, as well
choices, which followed fashions, including in their as the solutions of continuity and breaks with tradition,
eclecticism, help us to understand the position of artists with eclecticism providing the eminently political central
at the time when Louis XVIII was opening the Musée du theme to the transformation of Versailles.
Luxembourg, a gallery for living artists.
Louis-Philippe leaving the Palais-Royal for the City Hall, 31 July 1830, 1833 Salon, Horace Vernet (1789-1863),
Palace of Versailles © Palace of Versailles, (dist. RMN - Grand Palais) / Christophe Fouin
25The exhibition
Portraits and portrayal
Until 1830, the Duke of Orléans presented himself as the later inspired that of the portraits in the History
hero of his own story as it fitted into national history. Galleries at Versailles. The paintings of the marriages
Although he knew nothing of imagination and poetry of the Orléans children under the July Monarchy,
and hated novels, he understood that he needed to commissioned for the Palace of Versailles, were part
control his image and that of his family. of contemporary history included in the long story of
France.
The main artists were François Gérard, Ary Scheffer and
then Franz Xaver Winterhalter. Familiar with the rules The costumes were always in the latest fashion and
of court portraiture, they offered both a dynastic and a were often treated as bravura pieces. The bust of Marie-
progressive view of family. Amélie by Antonin Moine is thus an ostentatious
construction of lace and ribbons, barely offset by a
Full-length portraits were presented in panelling, negligently knotted shawl.
sometimes dominating small genre paintings in an
outmoded hieratic layout. The juxtaposition of the
portraits drew inspiration from 17th-century galleries of
illustrious figures. Louis Philippe thus created a Victoria
Gallery at the Château d’Eu. This distinctive presentation
Portrait of Hélène Louise of Mecklenburg-Schwerin,
Duchess of Orléans, 1839,
Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-1873),
Palace of Versailles
© Palace of Versailles, (dist. RMN-Grand Palais ) / Christophe Fouin
Portrait of Eugénie Adélaïde Louise of Orléans, known as Madame Adélaïde,
1842 Salon, Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-1873),
Palace of Versailles
© Palace of Versailles, (dist. RMN-Grand Palais ) / Christophe Fouin
26The exhibition
The Entente Cordiale at the Château
d’Eu
Louis-Philippe’s exile in England from 1800 to 1809,
then from 1815 to 1817, shows the degree to which he
liked the country. Links between France and the United
Kingdom were strengthened when Queen Victoria came
to the throne in 1837. As a sign of this rapprochement,
Victoria, who had commissioned her official portrait
from Winterhalter, sent a version of it to Louis Philippe
for the Palace of Versailles..
From then on, the two sovereigns worked to establish
the Entente Cordiale. In 1843, Victoria went to France,
to the Château d’Eu, residence of the Duke of Bourbon-
Penthièvre, inherited by Louis Philippe in 1821. The
following year, the British monarch invited the French
king to Windsor Castle and returned to Eu in September
1845, as shown by Winterhalter’s splendid painting.
Louis Philippe commissioned many works to
commemorate these three journeys. He sent the
watercolours to Queen Victoria, who collected souvenirs
of her travels in large albums, and kept the majority of
the paintings now conserved at the Palace of Versailles.
Portrait of Queen Victoria, 1842,
Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-1873),
Palace of Versailles
© RMN-Grand Palais (Palace of Versailles) / Gérard Blot
Concert given to Queen Victoria by the singers of the Comic Opera in the Guise Gallery at the Château d’Eu, 1844-1848,
Eugène Lami (1800-1890),
Palace of Versailles
© RMN-Grand Palais (Palace of Versailles) / Gérard Blot
27The exhibition
Louis-Philippe’s tastes
At home, in his private residences, then in the Crown
properties like the Palace of Versailles, Louis-Philippe
continued to show his liking for eclecticism. At the
Palais-Royal, he showed a princely taste for luxurious
interiors, opulent draperies and mahogany furniture
decorated with gilded bronze. At his summer residence
at Chateau d’Eu, Louis-Philippe chose to present
his works in the panelling at a time when practical
facilities were making their appearance. Simplicity was
the priority at Neuilly, a genuine country house, as at
Randan, a residence that Adélaïde of Orleans bought in
Auvergne.
The royal houses – the Tuileries, Compiègne, Saint-
Cloud, Pau and Fontainebleau – were decorated by
architect Pierre François Léonard Fontaine in a classical
style. Family life required a change in the use of rooms in
the apartments, with evenings generally being spent in
a Family Room furnished with large, round tables with
drawers to hold embroidery and books. The introduction
of oil lamps represented a radical change.
The interiors were filled with fashionable furniture and
objects, acquired by Louis-Philippe at exhibitions of
industrial products held in 1834, 1839 and 1844. The
king had a policy of genuinely encouraging the practical
arts, in particular commissioning neo-Renaissance and
neo-Louis XIV-style furniture and some exceptional
items from the Manufacture de Sèvres.
View of the Palace of Pau, 1843,
Siméon Fort (1793-1861), Palace of Versailles
© RMN-Grand Palais (Palace of Versailles) / Daniel Arnaudet / Gérard Blot
Chinese reticulated lunch service, 1832-1838, hard porcelain, Paris,
Manufacture de Sèvres, Hyacinthe-Jean Régnier (1803-1870) and Pierre Huart
(1783-1847), Musée du Louvre
© RMN-Grand Palais (Musée du Louvre) / Daniel Arnaudet
28The exhibition
Versailles ancient and modern
Once transformed into a museum open to all, the Crown
Palace of Versailles, dominated by its tricolour flag, kept
the central structure of royal residence, flanked by the
north and south wings laid out as History Galleries.
From 1833 to 1847, architect Frédéric Nepveu was the
project manager for the works. His large cross-section
drawings show the changes made to the former royal
residence, which included the King’s and Queen’s State
Apartments, separated by the Hall of Mirrors. These
ceremonial rooms kept their original names and fitted
perfectly into the design of the new museum. Louis-
Philippe partially refurnished them. Above all, he
exhibited historical paintings set into wooden panelling
that was generally painted white with gold decoration.
The hanging of the paintings was both dense and
symmetrical.
Louis-Philippe laid out the royal apartments as visitor
apartments. The public could admire the lifestyle of
kings while reliving the glorious souvenirs of the nation.
If this arrangement sometimes appears to be arbitrary,
half residence, half museum, this is also what gives it
its incomparable originality, and the Versailles of today
conserves this twofold identity.
Palace of Versailles. Main building. Plan for a tower, 1841,
Frédéric Nepveu (1777-1862),
Palace of Versailles
© Palace of Versailles, (dist. RMN-Grand Palais ) / EPV
Cross-section of the Louis XIII Gallery, the War Room, the Peace Room and the Louis XIV Gallery.
Frédéric Nepveu (1777-1862), Palace of Versailles
© Palace of Versailles, (dist. RMN - Grand Palais ) / Christophe Fouin
29The exhibition
The Africa rooms
Photograph of the Constantine Room: Palace of Versailles Photo: Thomas Garnier
fanciful ethnographic curiosity to the brutality and
violence of the fighting: France’s civilising mission is
implicit in figures highlighted by their dazzling colours
– a marabou reading the Koran, a Jew running off with
his belongings, women falling from sedan chairs, a black
slave skewering a watermelon – and a great number of
accessories portrayed with obsessive clarity, gazelles and
dromedaries straight from the Botanical Gardens. The
artist has replaced grandeur and drama by frivolity and
the picturesque, work that betrays both his Romanesque
exaltation and his racism.
Brother Philippe copying the portrait of Chancellor Étienne Pasquier in the Constantine
Room, Palace of Versailles, after 1842,
Attributed to Horace Vernet (1789-1863), Palace of Versailles
© Palace of Versailles, (dist. RMN - Grand Palais ) / Jean-Marc Manaï
The fitting out of the Africa Rooms began in 1837
under the direction of the architect Frédéric Nepveu.
Louis-Philippe wanted to commemorate the conquest
of Algeria where his sons had distinguished themselves.
The decoration of the three rooms, Constantine, Smala
and Morocco, was carried out by Horace Vernet, who
painted nine large works and was helped by Éloi-Firmin
Féron for the arches.
There never was an overall programme: after the siege
of Antwerp in Belgium in 1832, the choice of African
subjects was decided as the French troops advanced.
Horace Vernet was fascinated by the military advance
of the conquest and by France’s colonial ambitions.
Although he went to the actual battlefields of General view of the route followed by the expeditionary force from Constantine to
Constantine and Taguin after the fighting to make Algiers in October 1839, 1840, Siméon Fort (1793-1861), Palace of Versailles
© Palace of Versailles (dist. RMN - Grand Palais) / Christophe Fouin
preparatory sketches, he also worked from drawings
made by army engineers and artists
The three paintings of Constantine aim to give an
easily-understandable patriotic image: heroes have
become men. In Capture of the Smala of Abd el-Kader,
the artist has relegated the fighting to the horizon,
focusing on numerous bivouac scenes. The war in
images imposes a colonial exoticism here, adding a
30The exhibition
Artists who witnessed the conquest of
Algeria
Horace Vernet discovered Algeria in 1833. He was
fascinated by the inhabitants, their customs and
costumes. He liked to wear an Ottoman-inspired
costume himself.
Before painting his huge canvases of Constantine, the
Smala and Isly, Horace Vernet visited the places where
the battles had taken place. He made many sketches of
the landscapes and on returning to France he worked
them up in his studio before adding the various
protagonists. Once he had painted the setting, he placed
the picturesque accessories that he had brought back
from his travels in the foreground: bales of merchandise,
a teapot, a sugarloaf. These objects were sometimes used
in more than one painting. The sketches were gridded off
in order to facilitate their transfer to the canvas.
In October 1839, Adrien Dauzats was attached as an
artist to Marshal Valée and the Duke of Orleans’ military
expedition through the Portes de Fer (Iron Gates)
that form the route between Algiers and Constantine.
He made several drawings in the field then painted
these large watercolours in the studio, depicting the
way through the Bibans in the Djurjura range. Each
composition is based on the spectacular architecture
of the defiles, with rocks balanced upon one another General view of Constantine, to act as intelligence for siege operations, 6 to 31 October
and abrupt ravines. The soldiers’ uniforms are precisely 1837, 1840, Siméon Fort (1793-1861), Palace of Versailles
© RMN-Grand Palais (Palace of Versailles) / Gérard Blot
painted, but the figures are only there to recall the
sublime nature of the landscape.
The Battle of Isly, 14 August 1844, 1846
Horace Vernet (1789-1863),
Palace of Versailles
© RMN-Grand Palais (Palace of Versailles) / Franck Raux
31The exhibition
The History Galleries
On the ground floor of the central section and in the In the centre of the Palace, the King’s Bedchamber was
North and South Wings, several galleries relate the the highlight of the visit, enabling Louis-Philippe to take
history of France. The iconography was given priority possession of the past. Louis-Philippe took possession
and masterpieces are sometimes found alongside of the past by elevating Louis XIV’s bedchamber to the
copies for educational reasons. The historical scenes rank of a myth. Around a neo-Louis XIV bed with thick
concentrate on military history. The French Revolution scrolls, commissioned from Georges Jacob-Desmalter
was no longer an obstacle to recounting history and (and currently displayed in the Mercury Room) the
Louis-Philippe, who introduced the contemporary era, textile furnishing was borrowed directly from Louis
did not hesitate to place the Empire and the Restoration XVIII’s former throne room at the Tuileries Palace. The
in the same room. ensemble was certainly fanciful and anachronistic, but
extremely symbolic.
Portraits of kings and marshals were set into the
palatial decor of white and gold panelling, recalling the
presentation of the portraits at the Château d’Eu.
Louis Philippe and the royal family visiting the History Galleries at Versailles, 1848,
Auguste Vinchon (1789-1855), Palace of Versailles
© Palace of Versailles, (dist. RMN - Grand Palais ) / Jean-Marc Manaï
32The exhibition
The inauguration on 10 June 1837
The opening of the State Apartments and the South
Wing redeveloped by Louis-Philippe took place on 10
June 1837. Five thousand guests attended a magnificent
party with a visit of the galleries and a banquet in the
Hall of Mirrors. The Gallery of Battles with its endless
perspective, its natural lighting and its 36 paintings
inset into the decoration became the symbol of the new
Versailles. The many visitors’ guides and the Galeries
Historiques published by Charles Gavard have continued
to reproduce the new Versailles.
The evening of 10 June 1837 ended with a sumptuous
performance at the Royal Opera House. Miraculously
conserved, one of the sets, a Marble Palace highlighted
with Gold, designed by Pierre-Luc-Charles Cicéri
specifically for the party, has been specially placed on the
stage of the Palace of Versailles Royal Opera House until
4 November 2018.
If the king had taken liberties with the presentation of
the former royal residence, in the History Galleries he
freed himself of the rules applied to museums. Versailles
resembled neither the Louvre nor the Musée du
Luxembourg.
Portrait of Louis Philippe in the Gallery of Battles, 1841,
Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-1873), Palace of Versailles
© Palace of Versailles, (dist. RMN - Grand Palais ) / Jean-Marc Manaï
Louis Philippe inaugurating the Gallery of Battles on 10 June 1837, Jean-François Heim (1787-1865), Palace of Versailles
© Palace of Versailles, (dist. RMN - Grand Palais) / Christophe Fouin
33The exhibition
king Louis-Philippe’s abdication
The death of two of Louis-Philippe’s children, Marie of
Orléans, Duchess of Württemburg in 1839 and the Duke
of Orléans in 1842, slowed down work on the Palace of
Versailles. The economic crisis and social problems of
1847 almost stopped the works. In that year, the king
only visited the Palace on 20 occasions. On 31 December,
his sister Adélaïde of Orleans died. She had always
lived with the royal family and offered genuine political
support.
King Louis-Philippe certainly did not understand the
importance of the 1848 Revolution. He did not see that
his power had been weakened, especially since those
close to him minimised the seriousness of the riots.
However, on 23 February, he could no longer bury his
head in the sand. According to an eyewitness, the Notre
Dame tocsin rang lugubriously. The king, wearing the
uniform of the National Guard, was sitting in his study,
surrounded by the royal family, his ministers and a
few generals. He remained silent for several hours and
then, in the early hours of the 24th, he talked to Queen
Marie-Amélie. Calm and resolute, he wrote his letter
of abdication, signed it and read it out loud. He left the
Tuileries Palace the same day and departed for England,
where he moved into Claremont House in Surrey.
Portrait of Louis-Philippe, ca. 1849, Édouard Dubufe (1820-1883), Château d’Eu
© Christophe Fouin
The legacy of this builder-king is still visible at Versailles.
Alongside the residence in the central section, the
History Galleries offer two different views. The role of
the works presented in the State Apartments is to tell
the royal story, while the History Galleries conserve
the memory of the nation through the eyes of the 19th
century. The political choices reflect the cult of great
men and the moral principles that prevailed under the
July Monarchy.
Letter of abdication, 24 February 1848,
Louis Philippe (1773-1850),
Paris, National Archives
© National Archives
34The exhibition
The transformation of Versailles into a
museum Three questions for Hubert Le Gall,
(Madame de Maintenon’s apartment) exhibition designer
As soon as Louis-Philippe took the decision to transform How did you approach the design of the exhibition?
the former royal residence into a museum in 1833,
architect Frédéric Nepveu was made responsible for When you work in such a prestigious location as the
the works. He wrote minutes of each of the king’s site Palace of Versailles and the subject of the exhibition is
visits to record all his decisions. At the same time the creation of the very space in which it is held, you
Louis Philippe accepted suggestions from the architect must, in my opinion, maintain coherence between the
Fontaine and the artist Gérard. existing decor and the scenography that you create.
The scenography must, in this very particular case
The first work took place in the South Wing, first on the of the Louis-Philippe and Versailles exhibition, both
ground floor and then in the Gallery of Battles and the accompany the development of the subject through
Coronation Chamber. the way the works are displayed but also remain
discreet in relation to the authentic decor of the
Nearly 140 people worked in Nepveu’s practice, of rooms. The difficulty lay in striking that balance.
whom half were draughtsmen. As a result, the Palace of
Versailles conserves numerous sketches, architectural How did you manage it?
details, plans and cross-sections that served as working
documents: the arch of the Gallery of Battles, the ceiling Everything lies in the proportions and the details.
panels of the Coronation Chamber, the new layout of the How can you build dividing walls on which to hang
Queen’s Theatre. The architect also produced elevations the works and to structure the space at the same
of the existing state and the proposed developments in time letting the visitor see the richness of a ceiling
order to show how the residence would be transformed or a wall painting? That was the challenge. The
into a museum. Recognisable by the black line that height of the dividing walls that we introduced, their
surrounds them, they all bear the legend: Work ordered colour harmonising with the decor of the room, the
by the king for the conversion of the Palace of Versailles introduction of historical decorative elements like
into historical rooms, galleries and museums. the big candelabra all contributed to linking, for the
duration of the exhibition, the temporary and the
François Marius Granet was the curator of paintings permanent in an ensemble where every item has its
at the Palace of Versailles under the July Monarchy. place and makes sense.
Although he served as an intermediary for
commissioning work from artists such as Antoine-Jean With your exhibition designer’s eye, how would you
Gros and Georges Rouget, he spent his time painting define the Louis Philippe style?
the park and the lake of the Swiss Guard. A poetic
vision expressed with great freedom thanks to the use of The difficulty of my job lay essentially in
watercolours. understanding this unusual style which includes
stylistic references from every period. King Louis-
Philippe style is, at one and the same time, the taste
for a revisited style that you find at Versailles, for
example in the Crusades Rooms and the Gallery
of Battles, but also the taste for mixing all the older
styles, from Louis XIV right up to the Empire. This
is the mixture that you see in the watercolours in the
king and his family’s private apartments. Among all
the aspects that make up a style, I chose to base my
work on the classic-antique style, so frequently found
in the furniture with consoles supporting tabletops.
Versailles, imaginary view of the Palace, François-Marius Granet (1775-1849),
Paris, Musée du Louvre
© RMN-Grand Palais (Musée du Louvre) / Thierry Le Mage.
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