Artwork Description:
Asbjorn Lonvig's words: I remember that the Palace of Versailles was huge.
I remember it was extremely extravagant.
I remember, that I had to go outside for a momemt. I remember it was not an easy task to get out because of the crowd.
Wikipedia's words: The Palace of Versailles, or in French: le Chteau de Versailles, which has been on UNESCOs World Heritage List for 30 years, is one of
the most beautiful achievements of 18th-century French art. The site began as Louis XIIIs hunting lodge before his son Louis XIV transformed and expanded
it, moving the court and government of France to Versailles in 1682. Each of the three French kings who lived there until the French Revolution added
improvements to make it more beautiful.
The Hall of Mirrors, the Kings Grand Apartments, the Museum of the History of France. The Chteau de Versailles, the seat of power until 1789, has
continued to unfurl its splendour over the course of centuries. At first it was just a humble hunting lodge built by Louis XIII. But Louis XIV chose the site to
build the palace we know today, the symbol of royal absolutism and embodiment of classical French art.
In the 1670s Louis XIV built the Grand Apartments of the King and Queen, whose most emblematic achievement is the Hall of Mirrors designed by Mansart,
where the king put on his most ostentatious display of royal power in order to impress visitors. The Chapel and Opera were built in the next century under
Louis XV.
The chteau lost its standing as the official seat of power in 1789 but acquired a new role in the 19th century as the Museum of the History of France, which
was founded at the behest of Louis-Philippe, who ascended to the throne in 1830. That is when many of the chteaus rooms were taken over to house the
new collections, which were added to until the early 20th century, tracing milestones in French history.