The Power of Image: Versailles and The Sun King
Head to Ushaw between 1 April – 25 June for French opulence and splendour in our new exhibition The Power of Image: Versailles and the Sun King.
The exhibition explores Louis XIV’s relationship with Versailles through the Cabinet du Roi, the series of printed engravings produced to reflect the glory of his reign. In addition to a display of the rare original volumes, all produced in the second half of the seventeenth century, the exhibition features over 100 of the prints, reproduced and enlarged to show their rich details.
Highlights of the exhibition include reproductions of the engravings illustrating the spectacular decoration of the ceiling of the Ambassadors’ Staircase and the stunning Grotto with its interior design composed of rocks, seashells and marble sculptures. As these features were demolished not long after they built, the 350-year-old engravings are the only visual record we have of them. Louis’s development of the Château and the astounding festivals he held in its gardens are also revealed in the exhibition.
Ushaw’s copies of the Cabinet du Roi have never before been placed on public display.
The exhibition takes place in Main House and in our Outdoor Art Gallery which features images of the statues, urns and vases that decorate the gardens of the Versailles.
WATCH – An Introduction to the Exhibition with our Curator
