À la cour et à la ville

Abstract

In 1682 Louis XIV decided to settle his court in Versailles. Many apartments were created in the palace to accommodate members of the royal family, princes of royal blood and those in their service. These apartments were essential to take part in court life; they were allocated by the intendant and the governor of the palace, according to each courtier’s office. Those attributed to dukes and peers were relatively large. Their internal configuration reflected a desire for comfort and a need for privacy. The furniture was less luxurious than that in the town houses of Paris, but it reflected the fashion of the time. The courtiers also owned or rented houses in the city of Versailles, for personal domestic use. The architecture was subject to the control of the Bâtiments du Roi, which sought to impose a standardized model, for reasons of aesthetics, cleanliness and modernity. The administration was therefore at the origin of a typology specific to Versailles. However, the many repairs necessary provided opportunities to break the rules. Thus during the reign of Louis XV, the city of Versailles lost its originality. The furniture attests to the importance of food services, but also storage space for linen, food, horses and carriages.

Keywords

• Apartment
• town house
• furniture
• Château de Versailles
• courtier