 |
| Hall of Mirrors |
When we planned our trip to France, one of my biggest
desires was to visit the Palace of Versailles.
The house in itself was something spectacular, but it was the grounds
and the gardens I really wanted to see.
When I was a kid, my grandparents had a book about Versailles, and I
remember pouring over the pictures of the fountains. I’ve always been fond of fountains and
waterworks of any kind, and Versailles were perhaps the greatest ever. I’d always wanted to see them play in person,
and I was so sorely disappointed when my parents returned from their own trip
having seen only one.
This time, I would be the tour guide. I read books on the history of Versailles,
though I had no map of the actual house or the grounds. I had to hope I could figure my way around,
because just from the look of it on Google Earth it was incredibly
massive. In real life, it is, and
moreso. Built by Louis XIV, perhaps
France’s greatest King, the palace began as a humble hunting lodge and
continually expanded over the course of its existence as a royal Palace.
It is a beautiful but haunted place, and unfortunately
extremely crowded the day we arrived.
Saturdays were the day when the fountains in the garden were turned on
(all other days they remain inert) but on Saturday they would play to the
sounds of Baroque music. As a result,
everyone and their brother was coming to the grounds for the show, and they
were jam-packed in a line that ran from the front gate all the way up the long
cobblestone walk to the front door.
 |
| First view of Versailles, and the Palace Chapel |
Versailles is only thirty minutes from Paris by train, and
the town around it has its own quaint charm that we didn’t get to see too
much. Once you near the palace grounds,
the quaintness vanishes to the tall, imposing site of what were once official
buildings of the royal house. You step
from a tree lined path, and there before you is Versailles up on top of a crest
of a hill, gleaming with gilt and gold massive and austere.
 |
| Front Gate |
 |
| The royal crest, all in gilt gold. |
 |
| Not solid gold of course, but impressive to see nonetheless |
 |
| Palace chapel a bit closer to the view. |
There is no mistake that this is a palace, in its heyday it
housed around five thousand people, and that day it seemed like there were five
thousand lined up and packing the halls.
Security was a cursory, quick check, a pass by a sign reminding us to
watch out for pickpockets inside the house, and then we were off and up into
the grand structure. The first set of
rooms was sort of a buffer, with history and models of the construction of the
house. There were also portraits of the
people who lived there, and many of the visitors slowed down before going on
into the actual house itself. Even then
though, it was still ridiculously crowded.
 |
| Line to get into Versailles |
 |
| Front clock, this rests in prominence above the King's apartments |
It must have been incredibly nice to be a King of France,
for the scale and scope of opulence here is a marvel for a simple person such
as me to comprehend. I’m lucky to have
twenty dollars in my pocket at a time, but there was gold leaf everywhere, marble
floors, incredible statues, expensive furniture, and the customary regalia that
a royal family could possess.
 |
| Louis XIV - The Sun King |
 |
| Louis again, in bust form |
 |
| And again, on horseback |
Many of the portraits and statues were of the first
inhabitant of the house, Louis XIV, resplendent riding a horse or standing as
an Emperor. He has a very athletic,
outdoorsman appeal, XIV does, and he was when he lived. He yearned for the hunt and he was a master
with the ladies. He gazes at you from
walls or nooks with an expression not unfriendly but very secure in the
knowledge that he is the master and you but the humblest visitor to his home.
By comparison, his descendants are far from spectacular,
round and soft chubby looking people that lack his physical bearing and
bravado. Louis the XIV looks more like a
surgeon, and Louis XV looks like he stumbled out of a buffet to get back to
the bathroom. Strangely enough though,
XVI looks the friendliest out of all of them.
He smiles in this genuine and disarming way, as if he’d be quite
comfortable sitting down with you for tea.
 |
| Lonely Austrian - Queen Marie Antoinette and her brood |
If it is not him, it is his wife that will catch your eye,
or their two children. Marie Antoinette,
the child queen, sitting at an empty bassonet while her son and daughter reach
up for her affection. Her eyes seem
soft, and strangely sad, no matter the portrait and no matter her other
expression. Looking at these particular
two, the last of their family, I found myself feeling a very haunted presence. It wouldn’t be the last time when gazing at
Marie Antoinette.
I couldn’t stop looking at her head, then her two
children. I kept thinking of the fate
she’d endured, taken away from home and family and treated like royal trash by
everyone around her. Then, having to
flee her home, her possessions, in fear of her life and the lives of her family. Standing here in this house where Marie Antoinette spent her life I felt
incredibly sorry for her and her family.
I won’t wax historical or philosophical, at least not yet, but for now,
back to the tour at hand! (Apologies for a lack of photos below of some of the rooms, but it was incredibly crowded.)
The rooms of Versailles were all very much the same at
first. Dark rooms with heavy furniture,
portraits, gold leaf and beautiful carvings or sculptures. Images of gods and goddesses from greek
mythology form the central theme of each room.
Chief among these is Apollo, God of the Sun, chosen avatar of Louis XIV
– the Sun King. They are all beautiful
but chief and greatest of them all is the Hall of Mirrors.
 |
| Entering the hall of mirrors |
Louis XIV wanted a room that would dazzle and impress
anyone who stepped into it. He got his
wish, as he did many things, and the Hall of Mirrors still stands today as a
testament to architectural and design genius.
Anyone who has not stood in this place should forget any notion and
erase any picture they've seen from their mind.
The real thing is far more magnificent, opulent, and beautiful than
anything else inside the house. On one
side are all the mirrors themselves, and on the other, windows looking out over
the gardens. Light flows through this
place, hits the mirrors and reflects on the crystal chandeliers, the gold
sconces, the marble floors and the painted ceiling.
It is the light that brings the whole together in the Hall
of Mirrors, and even with the crowds of people, it was so incredibly
impressive. I walked the length twice
back and forth, and caught my own reflection in one of the glasses. At the time, this place was an engineering
marvel, nothing like it existed, and today almost nothing like it exists
anymore. Even at night, the Hall of
Mirrors must glow with an ethereal and otherworldly light. This room is the true center of the house,
the one thing people really come to see.
It is the crowning glory of a fallen crown, a faded house, kings and
queen’s whose spirits still glance back from the reflection beside your own.
 |
| Self Portrait |
After the Hall of Mirrors, the rest of Versailles interiors
seem an afterthought, and they were for us as we went outside and into the
clean, warm air. I was only too glad to
get out of the crammed corridors because like with most of my experiences with
museums so far, the crowd prevented actual reflection and enjoyment. Most everyone was just trying to get a
picture. Now that we were outside,
there was the wider expanse of the garden and my true interest and passion of the fountains there.
