Bulletin du Centre de Recherche du Château de Versailles (Mar 2006)
Charles Le Brun et les décors de miroirs
Abstract
In the early 1660s mirrors were the subject of much experimentation in France: integrated in the wall decoration of grottoes and small apartments, they were associated with shells, crystals and filigree, as well as offering themselves as original supports for paintings. Three building sites, dating from between 1660 and 1669, illustrate these trends: Madame Fouquet’s apartment at the Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte, the Grotto of Tethys at the Château de Versailles, and the king’s small apartment at Château-Vieux de Saint-Germain-en-Laye. At the head of all these projects, the same project manager: Charles Le Brun. Putting these decorative ensembles into perspective highlights the key role the artist played in the devising and development of decorations of fixed mirrors, from the beginning of Louis XIV’s reign to the creation of the Hall of Mirrors.
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