Versailles

Versailles Perhaps the only way one could understand the opulence of the palace of Versailles would be to analyze the person responsible for its embellishment. Louis XIV, also known as the Sun King, was a very egocentric man. This becomes evident as one walks through the halls of the palace and are able to admire the paintings where the King is portrayed next to Roman and Greek gods and goddesses. The Salon of War stood out to me because of the way the king was portrayed as a magnificent being who had obtained victory for France. In his attempt to seem all powerful, he placed close attention to the gardens. The breathtaking view of the 800 hectares with more than 200,000 trees was created to fool people into believing that the monarchy had power even over nature. But why did the king feel the need to demonstrate such power? Versailles is also a consequence of the paranoia of King Louis XIV. The construction of such a magnificent château reflected the king’s fear for revolution. By constructing this castle, he attempted to have control of his possible enemies. As if the beauty of the palace itself wasn’t enough, Louis XIV made sure the best of entertainment was found there. This included everything from opera and ballet to food. By creating royal institutions, such as the Academie Francais, he ensured that the most talented artist worked for him. Unfortunately, the place that had initially helped protect the monarchy turned into the pond where the king found his downfall like in the ancient Greek myth of Narcissus. Kings Louis XV and Louis XVI continued to embellish the palace and in doing so lost track of their people. They failed to realize that people were being influenced by philosophers such as Voltaire and d’Holbach and therefore drowned in revolution that took the lives of the monarchy. The palace of Versailles played a significant role in the French revolution. It was at the palace that in 1789 the “market women” demanded food for their children. Their clear intention was to kill Queen Marie Antoinette. It was after this that King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette were taken to Paris where they were later on executed. Unfortunately, history of this dark past was not visible anywhere in the museum. None of the 6,000 paintings found in the palace portray anything other than glorious victories. This could be due to the fact that the palace was turned into a museum by King Louis-Philippe after the restoration of the monarchy. Despite the fact that we discussed the History of Versailles and its magnificence, it would be a lie to claim I was not astonished by it the first time I saw it. It was not until then that the term "embarrassment of riches", that our professor had been using, took its meaning. As I looked around, I saw the same expression of mixed feelings. In my classmates faces you could see a sense amazement but also disgust, for it was inevitable to think of all the people who were, at the time of its construction, dying of hunger. I could not imagine the great impotence felt by the women who were at the gate demanding food for their starving children while the monarchy lived in great luxuriousness. By visiting this palace, I was not only able to see the way the monarchy lived but I was also able to understand a little more of the causes of the French Revolution.