Exhibition at the Palace of Versailles-Masterpieces from the king's bedroom, the echo of Caravaggio in Versailles

This exhibition gives the paintings that adorn the King's bedroom, one of the most admired rooms in the Palace of Versailles, their rightful value by appreciating them for the first time at eye level.

In 1701, Louis XIV decided to transform the axial salon of his small appartment, which was then open to the Hall of Mirrors, into a ceremonial room, making this space the epicentre of court life. The king then closely followed the changes to the room and chose to keep five of Valentin de Boulogne's paintings and four medallions, whose attributions had changed over time. However, due to the creation of the gilded stucco relief above the bed, three paintings by Giovanni Lanfranco, Nicolas Tournier and Valentin de Boulogne were removed from the woodwork.

The evolution of the salon into a bedroom demonstrates the monarch's taste for Caravaggesque painting. A painting with sober compositions and a virtuoso touch, playing on the density of the shadows to better contrast with the sumptuous décor of the room, largely enhanced with gold. In this parade room, the king chose to highlight both religious subjects, reflecting the Christian piety of his last years, and a French painter: Valentin de Boulogne. This artist, born in 1591 and documented in Rome as early as 1614, drew the strength of his palette from the models left by Caravaggio in the Eternal City and from the popular figures of the Rome of the underworld that he frequented until his death in 1632.

For the first time, the Château de Versailles has brought together all nine of the paintings that adorned the salon, as well as the medallions, thanks to exceptional loans from the Musée du Louvre and the Musée Tessé in Le Mans.

• General information
• Openings
• Fares

General information

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Openings

From 14/03 to 16/07/2023.
Closed on Monday.

Fares

Full price: 19.50 €.


Free under 26 years old for citizens of the European Union)
Large family: from 13 €
Disabled: 0 € (Free for people with disabilities with justification)
Group adults: from 15 €
Group children: 0 €.

Free entry for children < 18 years, Job-seeker, children accompanied by an adult, teachers, the students, people with reduced mobility, disabled people, disabled people and accompanying persons.

Paris Museum Pass accepted: compulsory reservation of a time slot.