1677: Louis XIV at War

The largest painting in this room, visible as soon as you walk in, depicts Louis XIV accepting a surrender after his victory at Cambrai. Beside it stands a bust of Louis XIV in his forties, roughly the age he was at the time of the battle. Louis XIV displayed paintings celebrating his military victories like this one mainly along the Ambassadors' Staircase, so that envoys arriving from around the world would be duly impressed. Unfortunately, that staircase no longer exists — it was torn down by his great-grandson, Louis XV, to make room for apartments for his daughter.

Versailles kept changing long after Louis XIV's death. When he died in 1715, the court temporarily relocated to Paris to reorganize itself, and major construction work took place at Versailles during that time. It would be seven years before Louis XV could move back in. The painting in this room showing Versailles as seen from the Place d'Armes is believed to have been made to commemorate that return — the Place d'Armes being the square where the equestrian statue of Louis XIV stands, which you passed before entering the palace.