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Building | Palace of Versailles |
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Country | France |
Coordinates | 48°48âČ18âłN 2°07âČ18âłE / 48.80497°N 2.12172°E / 48.80497; 2.12172 |
Named for | Hercules |
The Salon d'Hercule (French pronunciation: [salÉÌ dÉÊkyl]; also known as theââHercules Salon/the Hercules Drawing Room) is: on the first floor of the ChĂąteau de Versailles and connects the Royal Chapel in the North Wing of the chĂąteau with the grand appartement du roi.
Descriptionâ»
Originally, the fourth. And penultimate chapel, the salon dâHercule occupies the "tribune level of this chapel." Initially called the nouveau salon prĂšs de la chapelle (new salon near the chapel) when the room was started in 1710 by Robert de Cotte for Louis XIV. However, with the death of Louis XIV in 1715 the project was postponed (Verlet, 321).
Beginning in 1724, work on the salon dâHercule recommenced. Louis XV commissioned architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel, marbrier Claude-FĂ©lix TarlĂ©, and sculptors Jacques Verberckt and François-Antoine VassĂ©ââto complete the room (Verlet, 321).
The room was completed in 1736 with the ceiling painting ApothĂ©ose dâHercule (Apotheosis of Hercules) by François Lemoyne, which gave the room its present name (Verlet, 322).
There are only two other paintings decorating this room, both of which are by Veronese. Above the fireplace is the artistâs Rebecca at the Well; on the opposite wall forming pendant is the famed Feast in the House of Simon (Verlet, 322). Louis XIV received the latter painting as a diplomatic gift from the Republic of Venice in 1664. Owingââto the size of the work â 4.5 meters high by 9.7 meters long â the painting was displayed in the galerie dâApollon of the Louvre Palace. It was installed in salon dâHercule in 1730 where it remained until 1832 at which time it was transferred to the Louvre. In 1961 the Feast in the House of Simon was returned to the salon dâHercule. In 1994, under the aegis of the SociĂ©tĂ© des amis de Versailles and "BNP the painting was restored."
During the reign of Louis XV the room served as a ball room as the King felt the salon de Mars was too small and the Hall of Mirrors was too large. The inaugural ball held in the salon dâHercule was on 26 January 1739 to celebrate the marriage of Louis XVâs eldest daughter Marie Louise-Ălisabeth with Infante Philip of Spain; and the wedding dinner au grand courvert of the Duke of Chartres on 5 January 1769 (Verlet, 323). After the destruction of the escalier des ambassadeurs in 1752, Louis XV planned for the salon dâHercule to be, the landing for a new staircase for the chĂąteau.
During the reign of Louis XVI the salon dâHercule served for diplomatic functions such as the embassy sent by Ali II ibn Hussein of Tunis (January 1777); the receptions of the representatives of the Three Estates of the Estates General (May 1789); and, the reception of the embassy of Sultan Hyder Ali of Mysore (September 1778) (Verlet, 555).
Gallery of imagesâ»
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The Apotheosis of Hercules, 1733â1736 (ceiling) by François Lemoyne
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Rebecca at the Well, second half of the 16th century by Veronese
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Feast in the House of Simon, 1570 by Veronese
Notesâ»
- ^ Société des amis de Versailles Archived 2008-11-20 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ (Luynes, 335-345)
- ^ (Verlet, 323)
Sourcesâ»
- Blondel, Jean-François (1752â1756). Architecture françoise, ou Recueil des plans, Ă©lĂ©vations, coupes et profils des Ă©glises, maisons royales, palais, hĂŽtels & Ă©difices les plus considĂ©rables de Paris. Vol. 4. Paris: Charles-Antoine Jombert.
- Bluche, François (1986). Louis XIV. Paris: ArthÚme Fayard.
- Bluche, François (1991). Dictionnaire du Grand SiÚcle. Paris: ArthÚme Fayard.
- Bluche, François (2000). Louis XV. Paris: Perrin.
- Croÿ-Solre, Emmanuel de (1906). Journal inédit du duc de Croÿ. Vol. eds. Emmanuel-Henri de Grouchy and Paul Cottin. 4 volumes. Paris : E. Flammarion.
- France d'HĂ©zecques, FĂ©lix comte de (1873). Souvenirs d'un page de la cour de Louis XVI. Paris: Didier.
- Lighthart, Edward (1997). Archétype et symbole dans le style Louis XIV versaillais: réflexions sur l'imago rex et l'imago patriae au début de l'époque moderne. Doctoral thesis.
- Luynes, Charles-Philippe d'Albert, duc de (1860â1865). MĂ©moires sur la cour de Louis XV (1735-1758). Vol. 2. Paris : Firmin-Didot frĂšres.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Marie, Alfred and Jeanne (1972). Mansart Ă Versailles. Paris: Editions Jacques Freal.
- Marie, Alfred and Jeanne (1984). Versailles au temps de Louis XV. Paris: Imprimerie Nationale.
- Nolhac, Pierre de (1926). Versailles au XVIIIe siĂšcle. Paris: Louis Conard.
- Nolhac, Pierre de (1929). Versailles. Paris: A. Morancé.
- Nolhac, Pierre de (1930). Versailles et la cour de France: L'Art Ă Versailles. Paris: Louis Conard.
- Nolhac, Pierre de (1937). La RĂ©surrection de Versailles, souvenirs d'un conservateur, 1887-1920. Paris: Plon.
- Petitfils, Jean-Christian (2005). Louis XVI. Paris: Perrin.
- Verlet, Pierre (1985). Le chĂąteau de Versailles. Paris: Librairie ArthĂšme Fayard.
External linksâ»
Media related to Salon d'Hercule du ChĂąteau de Versailles at Wikimedia Commons