L’histoire à Versailles : plaidoyer pour la réhabilitation du chef-d’œuvre

Abstract

Louis-Philippe transformed Versailles into a museum of large rooms covered in paintings of the great events in French history. The public was thus meant to – in the course of a single visit – discover the beauty of the royal apartments and the Hall of Mirrors and understand their symbolism; in the Gallery of Battles, visitors with a keen interest in history could also contemplate a story told, and sometimes reinvented, with anecdotal details and with the help of beautiful images that would leave a lasting impression. Presenting a vision of history that is more faithful to the truth yet still retains the monumental museography inherited from the Ancien Régime, completing ensembles left unfinished and expanding the collections: that is henceforth the curator’s duty. The Versailles historical collections, some of the finest in the world, are indispensable to the study of art history: the very mission of the museum is to highlight them. Alongside history, the work of art thus finds itself at the heart of the debate in Versailles and the creation of new rooms should not forgo the celebration of artistic genius. The public will thus be able to read the image in a way that is not facile and appreciate both the collection and its components, discovering the harmony of beauty and truth that defines the inner necessity of a work of art.

Keywords

• Versailles
• Louis-Philippe
• history painting
• Gallery of Battles
• Crusades Rooms
• history of France