The Palace of Versailles


If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
The National Gallery of Australia will be displaying more than one hundred and thirty objects from Versailles over the coming summer.

This is the first time many of the items have left France - and range from Marie-Antionette's harp to the huge main figure from the Latone fountain in front of the palace.

(The original is coming to Oz - a copy is staying in France.)

From December till April in Canberra - tickets are already on sale of course.

Here's a link to the Exhibition - Treasures from the Palace

Versailles: Treasures from the Palace.
 
:previous: Fascinating..."Anti-Mistress Gate"??!!:lol:

Thanks An Ard Ri. I love reading about Versailles and it's history!?
 
I, personally, would like an "anti jerk" gate. ?
 
Why is the Palace of Versailles more beautiful than Buckingham Palace?
 
Why is the Palace of Versailles more beautiful than Buckingham Palace?

One consistent style. The symbiosis between palace and gardens.

Buckingham Palace has been raped by that awful 20th C façade, which covers an earlier façade enclosing the original open courtyard of the palace. The original building (now known as the back side) has a completely different style.

The interiors also are not consistent and sadly too Edelkitsch (George V's horrible frou-frou style).

Kensington Palace and Hampton Court are, style wise, so much more impressive and beautiful. Like Versailles they have more consistency despite parts from different periods. It simply has more harmony and a more esthetic feel.
 
Last edited:
One consistent style. The symbiosis between palace and gardens.

Buckingham Palace has been raped by that awful 20th C façade, which covers an earlier façade enclosing the original open courtyard of the palace. The original building (now known as the back side) has a completely different style.

The interiors also are not consistent and sadly too Edelkitsch (George V's horrible frou-frou style).

Kensington Palace and Hampton Court are, style wise, so much more impressive and beautiful. Like Versailles they have more consistency despite parts from different periods. It simply has more harmony and a more esthetic feel.
Well the French are known for their aesthetic style and beauty when it comes to art and architecture. Just that when I compare the two palaces, Buckingham Palace seems so dull. A bit sad looking.
 
One consistent style. The symbiosis between palace and gardens.

Buckingham Palace has been raped by that awful 20th C façade, which covers an earlier façade enclosing the original open courtyard of the palace. The original building (now known as the back side) has a completely different style.

The interiors also are not consistent and sadly too Edelkitsch (George V's horrible frou-frou style).

Kensington Palace and Hampton Court are, style wise, so much more impressive and beautiful. Like Versailles they have more consistency despite parts from different periods. It simply has more harmony and a more esthetic feel.

Why is Versailles more beautiful? A question of taste, the influence of history and the availability of money. Louis XIV conceived Versailles to showcase his position at the centre of the universe and to outshine all his courtiers who might have ambitions to his throne. In order to achieve this, he had access to the tastemakers of Europe, who were of course French. In order to pay for the construction at Versailles, he practically bankrupted the French state and set the stage for the revolution that ended the reign of the kings of France. The construction of Buckingham Palace had a different agenda which is quite evident in the building's interior; it was also meant as a 'Treasure House', with a jaw dropping art collection that in no way was meant to overpower the collections of other British nobles but rather to showcase the erudition of the collector. The interior is still intact as it has not (yet) been looted by the British hordes; the interior of Versailles may be seen at the Wallace Collection in London.:bang:
 
Why is Versailles more beautiful? A question of taste, the influence of history and the availability of money. Louis XIV conceived Versailles to showcase his position at the centre of the universe and to outshine all his courtiers who might have ambitions to his throne. In order to achieve this, he had access to the tastemakers of Europe, who were of course French. In order to pay for the construction at Versailles, he practically bankrupted the French state and set the stage for the revolution that ended the reign of the kings of France. The construction of Buckingham Palace had a different agenda which is quite evident in the building's interior; it was also meant as a 'Treasure House', with a jaw dropping art collection that in no way was meant to overpower the collections of other British nobles but rather to showcase the erudition of the collector. The interior is still intact as it has not (yet) been looted by the British hordes; the interior of Versailles may be seen at the Wallace Collection in London.:bang:

I agree that the British monarchy has the best collection which may compete with Lourve but the palace of Versailles is so beautiful and captures the essence of French monarchy.
 
Versailles was a master piece of baroque architects. While there were four major architects who worked on the building (six if you include the one who designed the gardens and the one who did many of the many murals), they were partners and one a student. They had worked together on projects prior, their styles reflected that. Versailles reflects the baroque style, a style not seen in architecture since the renaissance, a response to the reformation architecture and its starkness. The exploration of light, shade, movement and design which would later lead to the Rococo style of France (later baroque).

Versailles wasn't meant to simply display art. It wasn't an art gallery with art on the walls. The building itself was meant to be art. The walls, the floors, the furniture, it all was to display the wealth and grandeur of the French court.

Buckingham was a mix of different architects, all with their own view of the neo-classical style. Neo-classical architecture was a counter response to the opulence of the baroque period. It went back to the classical architecture, the focus on structure, symmetry and lines. When done right, like Syon house, its incredibly beautiful. But on purpose, it is meant to be much more simple, it focuses on form, not on design. Buckingham palace is a great display for art, because the architecture itself is not over the top, its simple and structural. Where Versailles is art itself, Buckingham is made to display the art.
 
I agree that the British monarchy has the best collection which may compete with Lourve but the palace of Versailles is so beautiful and captures the essence of French monarchy.

Many many objects from the British royal collections come precisely from the former French royal collections (and from Versailles in particular).
And to compete with the Louvre ? Not a single chance ...
 
Many many objects from the British royal collections come precisely from the former French royal collections (and from Versailles in particular).
And to compete with the Louvre ? Not a single chance ...

Thank you very much. Palace of Versailles is a wonderful palace. Very beautiful.
 
Many many objects from the British royal collections come precisely from the former French royal collections (and from Versailles in particular).
And to compete with the Louvre ? Not a single chance ...

How did the Brits get hold of those objects from the French collections ?
 
My MAJOR problem with Versailles [which I have loved since childhood] is its hideous Entrance Facade, [cramped and composed of far too many disparate materials]. It was fine when the building was a small Hunting Lodge, but is simply inadequate for so magnificent a Palace. It is in NO WAY answerable to either the majesty of the Garden Facade,the gardens themselves or the astonishing interior.
Louis XIV should certainly have taken the advice of his architects, and demolished Louis XIII little house, and started anew, but was [uncharacteristically] clouded by sentiment, and so made an aesthetic error..

As for Buckingham Palace is is a real pity that Parliament was only[finally] persuaded to house our Monarchs properly at a time when English Architecture was well 'past its best'. Had the mid-18th century plan for a Palladian Palace [in what is now Hyde Park] come to fruition we may well have had a rival to Versailles.
As it is John Nash was a very fine 'town planner', but an indifferent architect. As a result BP is a rather crude exercise in bland 'neo-classicism', that satisfied NO-ONE, not at the time or EVER since...
 
My MAJOR problem with Versailles [which I have loved since childhood] is its hideous Entrance Facade, [cramped and composed of far too many disparate materials]. It was fine when the building was a small Hunting Lodge, but is simply inadequate for so magnificent a Palace. It is in NO WAY answerable to either the majesty of the Garden Facade,the gardens themselves or the astonishing interior.
Louis XIV should certainly have taken the advice of his architects, and demolished Louis XIII little house, and started anew, but was [uncharacteristically] clouded by sentiment, and so made an aesthetic error..

As for Buckingham Palace is is a real pity that Parliament was only[finally] persuaded to house our Monarchs properly at a time when English Architecture was well 'past its best'. Had the mid-18th century plan for a Palladian Palace [in what is now Hyde Park] come to fruition we may well have had a rival to Versailles.
As it is John Nash was a very fine 'town planner', but an indifferent architect. As a result BP is a rather crude exercise in bland 'neo-classicism', that satisfied NO-ONE, not at the time or EVER since...

Personally I think that France and Italy love beauty and that’s why their architectures are beautiful. Germany has their fairytale like castles that captures people’s imaginations. The U.K. has great castles like Windsor and has a great art collection and jewel collection but their palaces are a bit dull when comparing it to other palaces in Europe. Spain has the royal palace of Madrid.
 
Wonderful video of the Trianons and Hamlet ...

 
Winter at Versailles - sun yesterday, fog today.

Free train travel from Paris Gare Saint-Lazare to Versailles Rive Droite because of New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, but less than five euros in normal times anyway.

Short walk from the train station to the Palace complex.

Some photos I took -
 

Attachments

  • IMG_2667.jpg
    IMG_2667.jpg
    216.7 KB · Views: 48
  • IMG_2687.jpg
    IMG_2687.jpg
    163 KB · Views: 47
  • IMG_2549.jpg
    IMG_2549.jpg
    202.8 KB · Views: 52
  • IMG_2906.jpg
    IMG_2906.jpg
    212.8 KB · Views: 46
Last edited:
A few more photos -
 

Attachments

  • IMG_2686.jpg
    IMG_2686.jpg
    104.2 KB · Views: 53
  • IMG_3028.jpg
    IMG_3028.jpg
    207.1 KB · Views: 44
  • IMG_3022.jpg
    IMG_3022.jpg
    206.7 KB · Views: 49
  • IMG_2797.jpg
    IMG_2797.jpg
    206.2 KB · Views: 45
Back
Top Bottom