Louis Réau et Versailles

Abstract

Art historian Louis Réau (1881-1961) is essential reading for anyone interested in the mobility of artists and the French influence in Europe. In his work, Réau identifies numerous ‘satellites’ inspired by French palaces and squares. Principal among those he sets up as models is Versailles, its château and gardens, which becomes, in his words, the ‘consummate royal residence’ to the point of exerting, by the eighteenth century, ‘an irresistible attraction on all “enlightened despots”’. Réau’s vision, developed from the 1920s onwards, was not new, being part of a long-standing patriotic and nationalist perspective. Nonetheless, it represents a landmark and infuses many comparative studies, sometimes right up to the present day. The aim of this article is to examine the workings of Réau’s thinking, to better understand the construction of a myth – the myth of Versailles – that he both maintains and draws inspiration from.

Keywords

• historiography
• myth
• art history
• comparatism