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Architectural Features of the Palace of Versailles

The Palace of Versailles is a classical style building, and its facade is a standard three-stage treatment of classicism, that is, the facade is divided into three vertical and horizontal sections. . Its interior decoration is mainly in Baroque style, and a few halls are in Rococo style.

In front of the main palace is a large garden with a unique style of “French style”. The surrounding gardens are also world-famous. It has a very different style from the classical Chinese imperial gardens. It is entirely hand-carved, with extreme attention to symmetry and geometry.

The palace is 580 meters long. The palace is composed of French gardens, magnificent castles, solemn castles and mirror halls. The interior Baroque furnishings and decorations of the palaces and castles are treasures in the world art palace. The more than 500 large and small halls in the palace are well-located and splendidly decorated; the colorful marble walls are dazzling; the giant crystal lamps pour down like waterfalls; the Western-style oil paintings on the inner walls and the palace dome seem to tell the story. With the illustrious military exploits of the former kings, the myths and stories told in the oil paintings are vivid.

To the west of the palace is a neatly repaired French-style park. The park stretches for 3 kilometers. The scenery in the garden is beautiful. Every flower, grass, water and pool are amazing. It is worthy of being called a “runner’s park”.

If the appearance of the Palace of Versailles gives people a grand and magnificent feeling, then its interior furnishings and decoration are more artistic, and the interior decoration is extremely luxurious and rich is a major feature of the Palace of Versailles. The more than 500 halls and small halls are resplendent and luxurious: the interior walls are mainly decorated with carvings, huge oil paintings and tapestries, and furnished with superbly shaped and exquisitely crafted furniture in the 17th and 18th centuries.

The Marble Court and the Hall of Mirrors are the two most prominent ones. In addition to the interior decoration mentioned above, the sun is also a commonly used topic, because the sun is the symbol of Louis XIV. Sometimes it appears on the wall along with weapons and armor. In addition to decorating the interior with human figures, the interior is also decorated with animal images such as lions, eagles, and unicorns.

Some are also cast metal into stair railings, and some metal fittings are also plated with gold, with various colors and marbles, which are very brilliant. In addition to the semi-circular arches like the Hall of Mirrors, the ceilings also have flat and hemispherical domes, and in addition to paintings there are reliefs on the top. Precious works of art from all over the world are displayed everywhere in the palace, including fine porcelain from ancient my country.

There are more than 1,400 sprinklers in the fountains of the Palace of Versailles, and they used more water than the whole of Paris, at a time when Parisians were often ill from water shortages. The king’s 30,000 soldiers built a large machine consisting of 14 giant waterwheels and more than 200 pumps to pump water from the Seine into the fountain, but the machine often broke down.

The entire construction process involved 3,000 construction workers and 6,000 horses – construction workers to complete the stonework, and horses to carry things. Even so, the construction continued for a full 47 years. In addition, due to the beautiful scenery, the live-action animated film of “Garfield 2” was also filmed.

Architectural problem

But Versailles did have some architectural problems. Because the entire building is built on soft sand and mud, some foundations will sink, so the construction workers are reluctant to work, and they never get good wages. Hundreds of them died on the job, some from accidents, some from fevers, contaminated with moisture from the nearby swamps. Louis was also said to be upset about this, but he did nothing but forbade anyone from bringing up death and disability.

At the same time, excessive pursuit of grand luxury makes living functions extremely inconvenient. There wasn’t a single toilet or toilet in the palace, and even the dauphin had to urinate in the fireplace in his bedroom, but that probably didn’t matter to Louis XIV, who only took a bath once a year. Louis XV was also extremely disgusted with the bedroom, believing that although it was spacious and luxurious, it was not warm. This is the downside of Versailles.