Accueil / Actualités / Événements / Expositions / 13 fév. - 19 juill. 2015, Princeton : Versailles

13 fév. - 19 juill. 2015, Princeton : Versailles on paper. A Graphic Panorama of the Palace and Gardens of Louis XIV

Exposition accompagnée d’un site Internet présentant une sélection d’ouvrages majeurs et des dossiers thématiques.

Présentation de l’exposition

From the beginning of his personal reign in 1661 to his death in 1715, Louis XIV of France lavished special attention and resources on his beloved Versailles. Under the king’s close supervision, an army of artists, engineers, and workers ceaselessly enlarged the palace, remodeled its interiors, and embellished its gardens. At the same time, the best engravers of the age were employed to produce a lasting visual record of these transformations and to project the glorious image of the “Sun King” and his court around the globe.

This exhibition documents the contemporary representation of Versailles through a multifaceted array of prints, books, maps, medals, and manuscripts. It highlights in particular those elements that today survive only on paper : ephemeral festivals ; short-lived creatures (courtiers, animals, flowers) ; fragile groves and fountains too costly to maintain ; and once celebrated masterpieces of art and architecture that were irrevocably destroyed or altered. The “paper Versailles” is quite different from the one that millions of tourists visit every year and affords many unusual and surprising glimpses into a largely lost world.

All the books and prints on display were created in the 17th and 18th centuries. With only a few exceptions, they were selected from the holdings of Firestone and Marquand Libraries, acquired over the past 140 years. A large number of these items came as gifts ; therefore, this exhibition also honors the curators, alumni, and friends of the Princeton University Library who have built its remarkable collections.

Publications en ligne

Audrey Adamczak, "Engraving Sculpture : Depictions of Versailles Statuary in the Cabinet du Roi"
Hall Bjørnstad, "From the Cabinet of Fairies to the Cabinet of the King : The Marvelous Workings of Absolutism"
Benoît Bolduc, "Fêtes on Paper : Graphic Representations of Louis XIV’s Festivals at Versailles"
Thomas F. Hedin, "Facts, Sermons, and Riddles : The Curious Guidebook of Sieur Combes"
Betsy Rosasco, "The Herms of Versailles in the 1680s"
Volker Schröder, "Royal Prints for Princeton College : A Franco-American Exchange in 1886"
Alan M. Stahl, "The Classical Program of the Medallic Series of Louis XIV"
Carolyn Yerkes, "The Grand Escalier at the Château de Versailles : The Monumental Staircase and Its Edges"

Related Events

Keynote Lecture and Opening Reception
Saturday, February 14, 3:00 p.m. "The Sun King’s Garden : André Le Nôtre, Louis XIV, and the Creation of the Gardens of Versailles" will be presented by Ian Thompson in 101 McCormick Hall. A reception follows in the Main Gallery. Free and open to the public.

Concert in the Gallery
Sunday, March 29, 3:00 p.m. Les Plaisirs de Versailles : Music for the Court of Louis XIV, performed by Les Agréments de musique (Minju Lee, harpsichord, and John Burkhalter, recorders), in the Main Gallery.

Lieu
Main Gallery et Firestone Library, Princeton, New Jersey 08544 USA.

Horaires
Monday to Friday, 9:00 - 5:00
Saturday & Sunday, 12:00 - 5:00