Visitors to Versailles (1682–1789)

From the late 17th century until the French Revolution, the court of Versailles received visitors from the rest of France and from abroad, ranging from travellers, princes, and ambassadors, to artists, writers and philosophers. This collaboration between the Palace of Versailles and the Met – the first of its kind – presents evidence of the many different kinds of visitors, their impressions of court, and the receptions they received – in the form of more than 300 examples of portraits and sculptures, costumes and tapestries, and decorative arts. Find out more about the exhibition from the Met’s website.

Preview the exhibition below | See Apollo’s Picks of the Week here

Dress (grande robe à la française), French, 18th century

Dress (grande robe à la française) (1775–85), French. Photo: Takashi Hatakeyama; © The Kyoto Costume Institute

Fan with a View of the Château de Versailles (c. 1780–85) Photo: Christopher Fouin; © Ville de Versailles, Musée Lambinet

Figure of Louis XVI and Benjamin Franklin, Charles-Gabriel Sauvage

Figure of Louis XVI and Benjamin Franklin (1741–1827), Charles-Gabriel Sauvage. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Folding Screen with Views of the Château de Versailles from the Avenue de Paris and the Cour du Cheval Blanc at the Château de Fontainebleau, Charles Cozette

Folding Screen with Views of the Château de Versailles from the Avenue de Paris and the Cour du Cheval Blanc at the Château de Fontainebleau (c. 1768–70), Charles Cozette. Photo: F. Doury