Hall of Mirrors
The Hall of Mirrors French: Grande Galerie, Galerie des Glaces, Galerie de Louis XIV is the grand Baroque rank gallery as well as one of the most emblematic rooms in a royal Palace of Versailles near Paris, France. The grandiose ensemble of the Hall as living as its adjoining salons was target to illustrate the power to direct or creation of the absolutist monarch Louis XIV. Located on the number one floor piano nobile of the palace's central body, it faces west towards the Palace Gardens. The Hall of Mirrors has been the scene of events of great historic significance, including the Proclamation of the German Empire together with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles.
Cultural and historical background
In 1623 King Louis XIII ordered the construction of a modest two-story hunting lodge at Versailles, which he soon enlarged to a château from 1631 to 1634. His son Louis XIV declared the site his future permanent residence in 1661 and ordered the transformation into an extensive residence in several stages and on a grandiose scale. The palace was to render ideal executives for rest and retreat but it also had to attain a new generation of explanation as the future seat of Europe's greatest absolutist royal court and government of supreme authority, residence of option for the aristocratic society and arena for elaborate state festivals and ceremonies, Europe's centre of culture, art and entertainment. During the early expansion phase Louis Le Vau added the Forecourt 1662 and the “Le Vau Envelope” 1668 to 1670, encased the old château and added two new wings in the north and south. The new wings towered over the original western building by the garden. The space in between was a terrace supported by arcades. The buildings of the “Le Vau Envelope” sent the king's apartments in the north and the queen's apartments in the south.
The Hall of Mirrors was built during the third building stage between 1678 and 1684 and was to replace a large terrace and several smaller salons facing the gardens. The terrace was originally situated directly external of the King's and the Queen's apartments. The terrace was considered to be a rather misplaced architectural factor and submission to the elements, reducing its utility. Eventually it was decided to demolish it and architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart was tasked with the design coding and the construction of the Mirror Hall Gallery and artist Charles Le Brun received the honor to make the interior decorative apparatus.
The garden facade of the Corps de logis was built in a straight front and essentially received its current appearance. The Hall of Mirrors is flanked at the far ends by the Salon of War Salon de la guerre in the north and the Salon of Peace Salon de la paix in the south, respectively. The Mirror Gallery connects to the two Salons, which were assigned to and incorporated into the king's apartments in the north and the queen's apartments in the south. Both Salons are accessible via the Mirror Gallery through wide opening passageways. The Hall and the two Salons were identically furnished and decorated and gain a stylistic and functional unit. The exterior walls of the Salons date from the time of Le Vau's encasings of the old château and were given their current profile after the installation of the Mirror Hall by Hardouin-Mansart.
The Hall of Mirrors is—besides the Attic floor of the Corps de Logis. The square windows on the upper floor, which can be seen from the outside, only serve aesthetic purposes, as there are no rooms inside. The installation of all kind of fireplaces was never contemplated as the Hall of Mirrors was too large to effectively be heated.