Our tour of Versailles was a truly incredible experience where I learned so much from our knowledgeable tour guide. Something in particular that stuck out to me was the references to Greek and Roman mythology throughout the castle. References to mythology and heroes of the past could be seen all throughout the castle. I find it very smart of Louis XIV to pick these figures which were associated with or represented strength, courage, different positive qualities, or were even gods that he wanted to emulate and be associated with to represent him in his decorations. One example of this was how Louis XIV was known as the “Sun King” and his emblem was Apollo’s face. He also held great admiration for Alexander the Great, though it was interesting to me that his advisors advised him to align himself with a god rather than a hero of the past so that he would be seen as a divine figure. As our tour guide told us, Apollo was chosen because the sun is the center of the universe (at least what was known of it at that time). Another example of this was the “Mercury room” which had imagery from Mercury/Aries, god of war. Our tour guide mentioned that this room was full of war imagery because soldiers would socialize there. It also featured a large painting of the King of Persia submitting to Alexander the Great, perhaps leading to an association between Alexander the Great and Louis XIV’s own military achievements.
Another aspect of our Versaille tour that stuck out to me was how public the lives of the royals who lived there were. Our guide mentioned that Louis XVI would be observed by the public from 8am until 11pm, leaving no part of his life unobserved. This was something that Marie Antionette, hailing from Austria, was not used to which gave another excuse for the French public to dislike her. Our guide mentioned that even the births of children were for public viewing and for one of Marie Antoinette’s births the room was so crowded with people that her husband Louis XVI could not even make it through the crowd to open a window for her. I found it very interesting that people were just as fascinated by “celebrities” lives back then as we are today. Reality TV shows like the Kardashians were always something that I associated with modern times and people being so engrossed in technology, however, back in the times of these royals the public was perhaps even more engrossed in these figures’ lives and were able to consume even more intimate details of their lives than we are today. The main difference between then and now is that these figures now can be watched by millions more people. The obsession with the ultra rich and powerful is something that hasn’t changed and people continue to crave the intimate details of the lives of these figures.
Comments
Post a Comment