plate I; black and white

First Apartment at Versailles, 1694

expand_more
Not on Viewexpand_more

This series of prints illustrates some of the evening entertainments offered to the courtiers on a regular weekday at Versailles, which included games, gambling, concerts, and dances. The French newspaper Le Mercure galant explained of these soirées in 1682: "The King permitted entrance to his Grand Apartments of Versailles on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays of each week to play all sorts of amusements there from 6 o'clock in the evening until 10, and these are called days of the Appartement."

Better known as a portraitist, Antoine Trouvain's depictions of these evenings include portraits of members of the royal family and the princes and princesses of blood, all of whom lived in large private apartments inside the palace. The young eleven-year-old prince, "Monsieur le Duc d'Anjou" (no. 1), is a grandson of Louis XIV and the future Philip V; he would succeed the last Spanish Habsburg King, Charles II, to become King of Spain just six years after this engraving was made.

Details
Title
First Apartment at Versailles
Artist Life
1656 - 1708
Role
Artist
Accession Number
P.14,502
Catalogue Raisonne
"The Sun King," Nancy Mitford, 1966
Curator Approved

This record has been reviewed by our curatorial staff but may be incomplete. These records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.

Does something look wrong with this image? Let us know

Zoom in on the left to the detail you'd like to save. Click 'Save detail' and wait until the image updates. Right click the image to 'save image as' or copy link, or click the image to open in a new tab.

plate I; black and white