Paris · Palace & Rooms
The Diana Salon
Palace of Versailles · Paris, France
The ceiling depicts Diana, goddess of the hunt and the moon, hunting by moonlight, and more hunting scenes surround it — a fitting tribute to Louis XIV's own love of the chase.
At the front of the room stands a bust of Louis XIV at twenty-seven, his thick, curling hair rendered so delicately it seems to drift in the wind. According to the story, during its making Louis XIV casually remarked that his nose looked a little crooked, and the sculptor duly reworked it.
When evening banquets were held, this room was transformed into a billiard room. Louis XIV was a genuinely skilled billiards player, and a two-tiered gallery was even installed so that nobles could watch him play.