L’ameublement et le décor intérieur du salon de Mars (1673-1789)

Abstract

In the autumn of 1682 when the king and his government settled permanently in Versailles, the Mars Salon served as the guardroom, the first room of the king’s apartment. When Louis XIV no longer occupied the Grand Appartement it became a parade apartment and the Mars Salon, with its beautiful dimensions, had two platforms added for musicians. The room, which was then referred to in inventories as the “Ballroom”, would play a central role in the apartment for over a century. What was it used for? What significant events took place there? This is what the current study initially attempts to shed light on. The festive character of the place also illuminates the decorative choices that were made. The study of the inventories, the Journal du Garde-Meuble de la Couronne, completes the descriptions found in memoirs, allowing suppositions to be made about arrangement and placement of fabrics, lights, tables, pedestal tables and other decorative objects. Some of the most beautiful silver furniture was resplendently located in the Mars Salon just behind – in the hierarchy of décor – the Apollo Salon. After it was melted down, gold and silver brocades and the radiance of gilded wood furniture took the place of the radiant silver to continue celebrating the site’s pomp and splendour. It was in keeping this tradition that Louis XV and then Louis XVI maintained the memory of their grandfather.

Keywords

• furniture
• Versailles palace
• planning
• Grand Appartement
• Louis XIV
• Louis XV