Baroque Planning in Paris
Figure 1: Hall of Mirrors, Palace of Versailles. [1]
The Palace of Versailles
Without a doubt, one of the most extravagant and well known results and greatest example of the Baroque era in Paris is the Palace of Versailles. The Palace of Versailles was built from 1624-1698 and was designed by Louis Le Vau amongst other architects at the time. As power was taken from the church and given to the state, the king became a very important person in France. The palace was meant to signify and celebrate the power of the King. This became the most famous palaces and is still very popular up till today. The palace features lots of decorative art and materials inside and out of the structure. One of the interior areas that was very decorative and still one of the most visited places in Paris today is the Hall of Mirrors. It is a very large room of about 240 feet long and 34 feet wide with a 400-foot ceiling. The mirrors were placed in a way that the outdoor scenery was reflected through the 17 large glass doors onto the 357 mirrors that were strategically place from floor to ceiling. The overall design of the palace was meant to place a focus on the King and his power that no longer belonged to the church. This was one of the main focuses of Baroque style architecture.
Figure 2: Palace of Versailles, exterior.
Figure 3: Palace of Versailles Plan (1679)
Another influential feature of the Palace of Versailles is the gardens designed by André Le Nôtre. The king of the time, Louis XIV commissioned Le Nôtre to design and renovate the gardens of Versailles. The garden is so large and designed with a lot of attention to detail that it took about 40 years to complete. Le Notre collaborated with other baroque style artists and designers to beautifully design the gardens. From the landscape to the fountains and statues, everything was thought out and designed with a focus on detail as was the baroque style. Things like the use of elegant curves instead of straight lines made the gardens one of the most notable achievements of the Baroque era. Other examples of Baroque style buildings in Paris, just to name a few, include places like Paroisse Saint-Paul Saint-Louis, Temple du Marais, which included a central square, which was a former place of meeting for the nobility at the time, and Palais du Luxembourg amongst many others.
Figure 4: The Palace of Versailles Gardens
Resources
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Hall of Mirrors, Palace of Versailles. Picture 1. (2018).
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Palace of Versailles, exterior
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Plan of the Palace of Versailles (1679), Princeton University Digital Library.
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The Palace of Versailles Gardens