The Hercules Salon

The first salon of the King’s Grand Apartment, the Hercules salon was actually the last to be created, at the end of Louis XIV’s reign. From 1682 onwards, the chapel of the palace occupied its location over two floors and served until 1710, when it was replaced by the present chapel. To decorate this new salon, in 1712 the monumental painting by Veronese, The Meal at the House of Simon, painted for the refectory of the Servite Convent in Venice in 1570, was placed here. In 1664, the Doge had presented it to Louis XIV so that the king would support him against the Turks. Interrupted due to the death of the Sun King for ten years, the works on the Hercules salon lasted until 1736, when François Lemoyne completed the painting of the vault depicting the Apotheosis of Hercules, which was supposed to show that "Virtue raises man above himself". This vast allegorical composition with 142 figures aimed to rival the masterpieces of the Italian fresco painters but it was painted on primed canvases, i.e. glued onto the support. The young painter committed suicide shortly after ending this work.

The Abundance Salon

On evening soirees, the Abundance Salon was the place of refreshments, where a buffet served coffee, wine and liqueurs. It was also the antechamber of the Cabinet of Curiosities or the Rarities of Louis XIV (now occupied by the Games Salon of Louis XVI) which was accessed by the rear door. The king liked to show his distinguished guests the silverware vases, gems and medals which were kept here and which inspired the decor of the vault, where one can see in particular the great royal vessel depicted above the doorway.
The King’s vessel, a precious object in the form of a dismasted ship, was placed on the sovereign’s table on grand occasions, or on the buffet. The symbol of power, which everyone had to salute as they passed, it contained the sovereign’s serviette.

This salon is currently closed for restoration.

The Venus Salon

This salon, as well as Diana’s Salon, formed the main access to the Grand Apartment, since the grand staircase, known as the "Ambassadors’ Staircase" (destroyed in 1752) ended here. On evening soirees, tables were set up covered with baskets of flowers, pyramids of fresh, rare fruit such as oranges and lemons as well as crystallised fruit and marzipan. Like all the following rooms, this salon takes its name from a planet, the theme linked to the solar myth which inspired all the decor of Versailles in the 1670s. Here Venus is depicted on the ceiling with the features of the Goddess of Love who, in Greek Antiquity, was associated with this planet. The other painted compositions, which decorate the arches of the vault (mouldings), represented the actions of ancient heroes relating both to the planet of the place and the actions of Louis XIV: thus one must decipher that the moulding depicting Augustus presiding over the circus games alludes to the famous carrousel of 1662 given in honour of the Queen, and that the one showing Alexander marrying Roxana evokes the wedding of Louis XIV.

Of the entire enfilade, the Venus Salon presents the most baroque decor. It is the only place where Le Brun made a dialogue between architecture, sculptures and paintings, sometimes real and sometimes deceptive: the marble pilasters and columns are repeated in the perspectives painted by Jacques Rousseau, and two trompe l’œil statues next to the windows correspond to the figure of Louis XIV by Jean Warin.

The Diana Salon

Like the Venus Salon, the Diana Salon served as a vestibule to the Grand Apartment and in Louis XIV’s day, on evening soirees, as a billiard room. Two rostrums were reserved for the ladies, who applauded the brilliant strokes of the King, who was very skilled at this game, so that this salon was also called the "chamber of applause". In Greek Antiquity, Diana, the goddess of hunting, was associated with the moon due to her coldness. She was also the sister of Apollo, the Sun God. The mouldings are decorated with hunting scenes of heroes of the Antiquity. Here, the allusion is transparent because it is well known that Louis XIV was a great hunter.

The central part of the ceiling executed by Gabriel Blanchard represents Diana presiding over navigation and hunting. On the mantelpiece, the painting of Charles de La Fosse depicting the Sacrifice of Iphigenia and, opposite, over the console, Diana and Endymion by Gabriel Blanchard. The antique busts come from the collections of Cardinal de Mazarin bequeathed to Louis XIV.

The Mars Salon

Mars is a planet but also the God of War. The choice of this military theme which inspired all the decoration of the salon can be explained by the fact that this large room was originally meant to serve as the guard room for the parade apartment. It was later reserved, at evening soirees, for music and dancing, so that it was commonly known as the "ballroom". The court ballets were strictly regulated and required many rehearsals; the princes took part in them, sometimes mixed in with professional dancers. On either side of the mantelpiece, two canopies, removed in 1750, were intended for the musicians.

In the centre of the ceiling, Claude Audran painted Mars on a chariot drawn by wolves. The work is framed by two compositions; one, to the east, by Jouvenet: Victory supported by Hercules followed by Abundance and Felicity; the other, to the west, by Houasse: Terror, Fury and Fright taking over the powers of Earth. Four paintings by Simon Vouet, from the château of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, are placed above the door: Temperance, Prudence, Justice and Force.

David playing the harp by Dominiquin, Louis XIV’s favourite painting over the mantelpiece, was in Louis XIV’s time in the alcove of the King’s chamber, aired with a Saint John at Patmos, then attributed to Raphael. To the left of the mantelpiece, one can see the Family of Darius before Alexander, by Charles Le Brun and to the right The Pilgrims of Emmaus, after Veronese (formerly the original): hung as a pair, they reveal the desire to show that French painters could now rival the greatest Italian masters. On the side walls are two portraits d’apparat: Louis XV and Marie Leszczinska, both painted by Carle Van Loo.

The Mercury Salon

Originally, the Mercury Salon was the parade chamber of the Grand Apartment, hence its name of "bedchamber", even though this bed was quickly removed in winter in order to free up the space and install the gaming tables. Until 1689, when Louis XIV had to bring himself to have them melted down to finance the war of the League of Augsburg, tables, mirrors, andirons and chandeliers in solid silver, magnificently carved by the Gobelins silversmiths, decorated walls, ceilings and mantelpiece. A balustrade, also in silver, separated the alcove from the rest of the room. Brocade – fabric woven with gold and silver thread – lined the walls as well as the bed, but they in turn were sent to the Mint, this time to support the Spanish War of Succession. One of the rare times when the Mercury Salon served as a room was on the occasion of the proclamation of the Duke of Anjou, the grandson of Louis XIV, as King of Spain: the young prince slept here for three weeks, before going to his new country. It was also in this room that, from 2 to 10 September 1715, the mortal remains of Louis lay in state.

The War of the League of Augsburg, also called the "nine year war", was triggered in 1688 by France’s occupation of the Palatinate. In light of that action, the Empire, the Netherlands and Spain allied themselves to challenge the kingdom on its pretentions to the inheritance of Madame, the sister-in-law of Louis XIV and the Princess Palatine. This conflict, the biggest of Louis XIV’s reign, ended with the cession of Strasbourg to France, on 30 October1697. The Spanish War of Succession d’Espagne followed Louis XIV’s acceptance of the will of Charles II who, having died without an heir, appointed the Duke of Anjou as his successor at the head of all of Spain’s possessions and thus preferred the Bourbon dynasty to that of the Habsburgs from which he descended.

The ceiling painted by Jean-Baptiste de Champaigne represents Mercury on his chariot drawn by two cocks. The mouldings are decorated with four paintings: on the left, on the side of the Mars Salon, Augustus receiving an embassy f Indians; at the rear, opposite the windows, Ptolemaeus Philadelphia in his library; on the right, on the window side, Alexander and Aristotle who receives from this prince various foreign animals whose history he writes. The bed which can be seen now is the one which Louis-Philippe had installed in the King’s chamber when Versailles was transformed into a museum.

This room was restored recently. Learn more

The Apollo Salon

The Apollo Salon, dedicated to the Sun God, god of the Arts and Peace, with whom Louis XIV identified, was the most luxurious of all. This can still be perceived today in the ceiling decor where all the paintings – central composition, mouldings and corner pieces – are all in colour and where all the sculptures are circular embossed and completely gilded. But all the rest has disappeared: the silver furniture, in particular the 2.60 metre high throne, was melted down in 1689. A gilded wooden armchair, whose style evolved from reign to reign, replaced Louis XIV’s throne. It was placed on a platform covered with a Persian carpet with a golden background and under a canopy. The draperies, which like in all the royal residences, varied according to the seasons, were made of crimson velvet interspersed with eighteen bands of gold and silver embroidery in the winter and gold and silver on silk in the summer.

The carpet of the royal Factory acquired thanks to the sponsorship of TOTAL.