Louis XIV's Retreats

This room holds large paintings of forests and châteaux — all places where Louis XIV went to rest or pursue his favorite pastime, hunting. Each autumn he would travel to regions rich with game.

The painting on the left shows the Château of Saint-Germain-en-Laye and its gardens, the place where Louis XIV was born. Even while living at Versailles, he loved returning here to hunt, and the lower part of the painting shows people in the midst of the hunt. The second painting depicts the Château de Vincennes, the refuge he fled to as a child when he escaped Paris during the nobles' rebellion; it later became another favored hunting ground. Finally, the painting on the right shows the Château de Saint-Cloud, home to Louis XIV's only brother, the Duke of Orléans. Louis XIV gave generous support toward decorating this château so that his brother could maintain the dignity befitting a royal without ever posing a challenge to his own authority. Thanks to this, his brother gained a beautiful residence, and Louis XIV himself gained a retreat he could visit whenever he tired of the rigid ceremony of Versailles.