Inside Versailles (Chronicle 4, European Trip 2019)

In the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles

If the masterpiece of the palace architecture was not enough to overwhelm a visitor to Versailles, the interior would be sure to impress. As one traverses from one magnificent room to the next within the grand structure, his own sense of smallness emerges and a sort of mythical world blending the French aristocracy with classical heroes of both lore and history envelops him in a blend of awe and wonderment. In fact, Louis’ love of Greek and Roman mythology displays itself in nearly every room of the palace.

Here, it is the ceiling that spells a room’s significance. In the ceiling of the reception room, for example, Diana (the "goddess of hunting") looks down upon guests being entertained in the now lavish place. She reminds guests there of the home’s first function, that of a hunting lodge.

Ceiling art at Versailles

Strangely enough, this room’s very ceiling, with its broad strokes of mythological figures painted in bold hues, once gazed down upon a royal chapel, where the king worshiped daily. But, due to its grand dimensions, it was later transformed into a reception room.

Although this room’s ceiling is original, few original pieces can be found throughout Versailles, since the National Assembly during the devastating French Revolution saw the masterpieces here as valuable and auctioned off the majority of Louis’ treasures. However, copies exist in abundance; and the French have pedagogically restored reproductions to their original position throughout the palace.

Louis XIV on horseback

A lover of Italian art, Louis XV received the grand canvas on the wall of this room as a diplomatic gift from the Republic of Venice. Today, Louis’s fine collection can be seen by visitors to the Louvre, which houses most of the originals of these masterpieces.

From this reception room, Louis XIV’s many loves are made clear. His appreciation for the classical past, for grandeur in sculpture and marble, and for what was then considered the best of artwork—the Italian kind—is evident from the initial reception room of Versailles.

As Louis clearly displayed those items which reflected his tastes to all who entered his grand estate, so the King of the Universe has specified what He classifies as good for His children.

Micah 6:8 states, “He hath shown thee, O man, what is good, and what doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”

Doing justly means doing what is right, following God’s Word fully in our daily lives. Loving mercy includes cherishing this trait of our merciful God by freely giving to others what He has so kindly demonstrated to us. Walking humbly with God encompasses the idea of living each day in a humble way before the Almighty.

Just as Louis XIV made evident for all to see what things he thought were good, so when others observe the lives of any God’s children, these salient virtues ought manifest themselves plainly from the vestibule of our hearts—living in accordance to God’s Word, loving mercy, and walking humbly with our God.

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