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Entryway to the "Hall of Mirrors"
Overlooking the Versailles park near Paris, the Hall of Mirrors
is the biggest room in the Versailles palace. It owes its name to the 17 mirrors facing the 17 windows and reflecting the
gardens.
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The Hall of Mirrors (La Galerie des Glaces)
The Hall of Mirrors, erected to the glory of Louis XIV and now
the chief masterpiece of Versailles, was begun in 1678 when the chateau became the official residence. The Hall of mirrors
was not only a symbolic focus of the kingdom during the ancien regime, but also continued to play a key historical role after
the Revolution. In 1919, the first World War officially ended when Germany signed the Treaty of Versailles in the Hall
of Mirrors; Hungary signed the treaty the following year in the Grand Trianon.
On the signing of the Treaty of Nijmegen, which
represented the highpoint of his reign, Louis XIV ordered Le Brun to depict his government's accomplishments on the ceiling
of the hall. Le Brun designed thirty compositions, framed by stucco-work, showing the monarch in various guises: Roman emperor,
great administrator of the kingdom, and victor over foreign powers.
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