Art Within the Gardens of Versailles

This room displays works depicting the Versailles gardens as they looked during Louis XIV's reign. The gardens were decorated with just as much care as the palace interior. One of the two large paintings here is the "Northern Parterre" — a parterre being a garden laid out in neat, geometric patterns — while the opposite wall holds the "Southern Parterre," which you'll see in person later, on your way out after finishing the interior tour.

At the center of the room stand several sculptures, including angels. These are the original statues and fountain components actually used in Louis XIV's day; replicas now stand in the gardens to protect the originals from damage, which are displayed here instead. Louis XIV commissioned around twenty sculptors to create more than two hundred outdoor sculptures placed throughout the grounds. In this way, the gardens served as more than a place of leisure — they doubled as an outdoor stage for broadcasting the king's authority.