The Hall of Mirrors did more than just look amazing
The Palace of Versailles features hundreds of rooms, many of them ornate in their design. But none compares to the Hall of Mirrors. Completed in 1682, the room was decorated with some 357 mirrors, as well as with ostentatious chandeliers. It cost a fortune to produce and, to critics of King Louis XIV, was proof of the decadence that had gripped the Royal Family. But the Hall of Mirrors was not just about Louis showing off his vast wealth. The most famous room in the Palace of Versailles also had huge social and political significance.
For instance, the Hall of Mirrors, which connected the King’s private apartment with the Chapel, was designed to symbolise the economic power of France. Up until that point, the state of Venice had a monopoly on making mirrors. Despite this, Louis XIV went ahead and convinced an elite group of Venetian mirror-makers to work for him. According to some accounts, these men were later killed by the rulers of Venice for sharing their closely-guarded secrets. From 1682 onwards, France, and more specifically, Paris, was held up as the global capital of high taste and fashion, thanks in no small part to the Hall of Mirrors.
The mirrors were not just a means of highlighting France’s – and thus the King’s – economic and cultural capital, however. They also played a central role in social life at the Palace of Versailles. Each day, courtiers, aristocrats and other court insiders would line the Hall of Mirrors hoping to catch the monarch’s eye as he passed through on his way to daily prayers. Everyone was hoping to find royal favour, and the mirrors ensured that no act of scheming could go unnoticed. Every subtle nod and glance would be reflected hundreds of times. Worst of all, any slip or social faux-pas would also be seen by all and could prove fatal to a courtier’s ambitions.