The Cotelle Gallery: Where Paintings Meet the Garden

This gallery takes its name from the painter Jean Cotelle, who created 21 of the 24 large paintings displayed here. Each canvas renders a corner of the garden visible through the windows, woven together with figures from mythology.

Much like the paintings themselves, the space was closely tied to nature in practical use as well. In winter, it served as a greenhouse to shield plants from the harsh cold: eleven windows face south to let in warming sunlight, while only five face the colder north. Midway down the gallery sits a bathtub-shaped marble basin; when Louis-Philippe converted the space into a dining room, the basin was filled with ice water and used as a kind of refrigerator.

At the far end of the 52-meter gallery lies the Garden Room, elegantly furnished in purple, with a door leading directly out to the garden. Access to it is currently restricted.