La galerie des Glaces révélée // Revealing the Hall of Mirrors

🇫🇷 Dans cette vidéo, la galerie des Glaces se révèle sous un nouveau jour. Cet été, le château de Versailles a restitué son aspect originel, aboutissement d’une démarche patrimoniale rigoureuse visant à retrouver les volumes, les jeux de lumière et les perspectives de ce lieu emblématique.
Pendant des décennies, la galerie était ornée de trois rangées de lustres, inspirées du mariage de Louis XVI et de Marie-Antoinette en 1770. Or, cet usage exceptionnel n’avait eu lieu qu’une dizaine de fois sous l’Ancien Régime.
Désormais, seuls six lustres centraux subsistent, comme au XVIIe siècle. Cette restitution redonne toute sa force à l’espace, met en valeur la lumière et surtout la voûte peinte par Charles Le Brun, véritable chef-d’œuvre baroque, chapelle Sixtine de l’art français. La galerie retrouve ainsi son authenticité : un espace majestueux, ouvert sur les jardins, où architecture, peinture et lumière dialoguent à nouveau.
Le château de Versailles poursuit ainsi son ambition : rester fidèle à l’histoire tout en célébrant la splendeur unique de ce patrimoine universel.
🌍 In this video, the Hall of Mirrors is revealed in a new light. This summer, the Palace of Versailles restored its original appearance, the culmination of a rigorous heritage approach aimed at recreating the volumes, play of light, and perspectives of this iconic space.
For decades, the gallery was adorned with three rows of chandeliers, inspired by the marriage of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette in 1770. However, this exceptional use had only occurred about ten times under the Ancien Régime.
Now, only six central chandeliers remain, as they did in the 17th century. This restoration restores the space’s full power, highlighting the light and, above all, the vaulted ceiling painted by Charles Le Brun, a true Baroque masterpiece often described as the Sistine Chapel of French art. The gallery thus regains its authenticity: a majestic space, opening onto the gardens, where architecture, painting, and light once again interact. The Palace of Versailles thus pursues its ambition: to remain faithful to history while celebrating the unique splendor of this universal heritage.

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© Château de Versailles, 2025

The Hall of Mirrors is
a very strange place because it replaces
a terrace. It’s an interesting story
of a Palace that grows and grows if you like, becoming more and more official. It corresponds to the time when the
court moved to Versailles. So a large audience gallery
was needed. Like all the rooms
in the grand apartments, it was multi-purpose. It was used for major
official diplomatic events and receptions for arriving ambassadors. The king’s throne
was installed to be visible anywhere. And then, of course, you’d arrive
perhaps a little more nervous. Then there were the famous balls. The Hall would be filled
with chandeliers, and a lot of lights would be added. And the parties
were grandiose. It’s important to remember
that those thousands of candles were very complicated to manage. It contributed
to the myth of Versailles. Here, the Hall of Mirrors looks west,
towards the setting sun. We were much more sensitive
to the subtle nuances of day and night. It’s a place that would
always face the gardens, as the terrace once did. But it would remain completely
transparent, with this incredible interplay of 17 large windows
and 17 large mirror arches on the other side giving you the impression that you’re
actually walking through the gardens. That’s the most extraordinary
thing about this gallery it’s the perfection of proportions. A breadth,
a nobility of design, of elevation, that’s formidable. That’s what really makes
the Hall of Mirrors great. Today, we have some idea
of the furniture. Unfortunately, it’s a far cry
from what the Hall of Mirrors might have looked like under Louis XIV. Especially during the period
of the silver furniture. You have to imagine the mythical
solid silver furniture that filled the Hall. We bring to mind the tables,
the 12 tables that adorned the Hall with equivalent Louis XIV models. So with all these elements, we obtain
something that evokes the Hall’s atmosphere quite faithfully. Even if, like
all the places in Versailles, it’s a work in progress. Right now, we’re at an important stage
in the process of making the Hall much more accurate. Today marks a milestone in this
great quest for the best
and most beautiful version of the Hall of Mirrors. Only part
of the 1980s project for new lighting
has been retained. In other words, we’re keeping
the torchères and girandoles that were installed on top. We’re keeping only a small section
of fixed chandeliers. And all the ballroom
lighting was removed which is anecdotal,
has no reason to be there all the time and, above all, it hinders
the visibility of the ceiling. Today, we consider
that the real aspect of this Hall is to have fixed lighting,
i.e. permanent lighting. This alone gives the Hall something much closer to history. And this human-level
lighting is very important because it’s effective,
it’s more pleasant. It embodies much better the spirit
and conception of the lighting atmosphere
we had at the time. An important part of the project
is to rediscover the splendor of Charles Lebrun’s vault. After all, it’s the French
Sistine Chapel. It’s the absolute
masterpiece of ceiling painting. An extraordinary, one-of-a-kind
statement, in which the gods are suddenly replaced by the king. The lighting, too, of this vault,
which must give the impression of not existing. In fact, we don’t even want
to let you notice the presence of spotlights. But you’ll get the impression that
it’s daylight that naturally allows you to see the paintings on the ceiling. It’s a very complex operation to plan but it will be fully completed
by summer 2025. So the ceiling design
is amazing. They had this idea
of leaving traditional mythological iconography behind to make room
for the king himself. In other words, Louis XIV
becomes a kind of God. In any case, he lives out his
adventures on the vaulted ceiling of the Hall of Mirrors,
surrounded by divinities, allegorical creatures, dragons
and all manner of more or less symbolic characters, following the military
and diplomatic career of Louis XIV, who pacified Europe. And who therefore offered it peace. Of course, it was a peace
to his advantage since we explain how France
imposed its views, turned alliances upside down. And finally, triumph
of a new European order. It’s a kind of comic strip,
if you like, this ceiling. And then, in the center,
there’s this magnificent scene entitled “The King rules by himself” and it’s very moving because here, we have the character
invested with his destiny, with a magnificent rudder,
obviously evoking the art of governing, and he leaves the carefree,
ordinary life symbolized by the children playing cards in the foreground. It’s a philosophical,
allegorical language that shows the importance
of the king’s role in the world. There are allusions to
different world cultures. That’s very important, curiosity.
Louis XIV was a great collector. So, for example, we have
this samurai armor that pops up in the Hall décor. One very amusing thing
about this ceiling is that each painting has a cartouche. That’s what perhaps brings it
closer to a comic strip. It’s decor that speaks.
Originally, they were in Latin. So we’re in a classical, somewhat
scholarly culture. And we ended up
with what we have today. In other words, legends that look simple
and understated, but which are by Boileau and Racine. So 2 immense authors who undoubtedly
add to the charm. “The King Armed
on Land and on Sea”. It’s almost a verse
after all, with the dates. So really, we have the ancestor
of modern museography. I think that for a long time,
the chandeliers prevented the eye from reaching the level above because it creates a backlight.
But you really have to look up. And you can visit Versailles
just by looking at the ceilings.