The Galerie des Batailles (French:[ɡalʁidebataj]; English: "Gallery of Battles") is a gallery occupying the first floor of the Aile du Midi of the
Palace of Versailles, joining onto the grand and petit appartement de la reine. 120 m (390 ft) long and 13 m (43 ft) wide, it is an epigone of the grand gallery of the
Louvre and was intended to glorify French military history from the
Battle of Tolbiac (traditionally dated 496) to the
Battle of Wagram (5–6 July 1809).
History
The gallery was a major component of the
Musée de l'Histoire de France created by
Louis-Philippe I. It replaced apartments which had been occupied in the 17th and 18th centuries by
The architects
Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine[1] and Frédéric Nepveu created a solemn decorative scheme for it, with a wide cornice supporting a coffered painted ceiling with entablatures supported by Corinthian columns along the length of the gallery. 13 bronze tablets on the wall are inscribed with the names of princes, admirals, constables, marshals and warriors killed or wounded whilst fighting for France. There are also busts placed on supports against the columns and between the paintings.
The main contents of the rooms, however, were envisaged as the vast paintings showing major military events in French history, some already in existence but mostly specially commissioned for the Galerie. While a number of them were of questionable quality, a few masterpieces, such as the Battle of Taillebourg by
Eugène Delacroix, were displayed here.
Battle of Austerlitz, 2 December 1805, oil on canvas, sketch after an original that in 1846 was in the Paillet collection, commissioned by Napoleon I for the ceiling of the salle du Conseil d'État at the
palais des Tuileries in Paris, showing Napoleon accompanied by
Jean Rapp, 9.58m by 5.10m
Battle of Rocroi, 19 May 1643, the
duc d'Enghien ordering his troops to stop fighting the Spanish, who have come to him to surrender. Artist : François Joseph Heim (1787–1865.)vers 1834, 4.65m by 5.43m
The
Grand Condé at the
battle of Lens, 20 August 1648, victory over the Spanish troops commanded by archduke Leopold. Circa 1835, Artist :
Jean-Pierre Franque (1774–1860). 4.65m by 5.43m
The
Battle of Fontenoy, 11 May 1745, showing
Maurice de Saxe presenting the captured British and Dutch prisoners and colours to
Louis XV and the
dauphin; Artist: Horace Vernet (1789–1863). Date:1828. 5.1m by 9.58m
Battle of Lawfeld, 2 July 1747 : Louis XV pointing out the village of Lawfeld to
Maurice de Saxe. Artist :
Pierre Lenfant (1704–1787). Period : reign of Louis XV (1723–1774). 2.75m by 2.5m
In 1978, Breton nationalists of the
Breton Revolutionary Army caused major damage to the Galerie[2] in planting a bomb. Having failed to plant one in the
Hall of Mirrors, they moved to the galerie des Batailles, targeting Napoleon as a symbol of French colonialism.
The Galerie des Batailles (French:[ɡalʁidebataj]; English: "Gallery of Battles") is a gallery occupying the first floor of the Aile du Midi of the
Palace of Versailles, joining onto the grand and petit appartement de la reine. 120 m (390 ft) long and 13 m (43 ft) wide, it is an epigone of the grand gallery of the
Louvre and was intended to glorify French military history from the
Battle of Tolbiac (traditionally dated 496) to the
Battle of Wagram (5–6 July 1809).
History
The gallery was a major component of the
Musée de l'Histoire de France created by
Louis-Philippe I. It replaced apartments which had been occupied in the 17th and 18th centuries by
The architects
Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine[1] and Frédéric Nepveu created a solemn decorative scheme for it, with a wide cornice supporting a coffered painted ceiling with entablatures supported by Corinthian columns along the length of the gallery. 13 bronze tablets on the wall are inscribed with the names of princes, admirals, constables, marshals and warriors killed or wounded whilst fighting for France. There are also busts placed on supports against the columns and between the paintings.
The main contents of the rooms, however, were envisaged as the vast paintings showing major military events in French history, some already in existence but mostly specially commissioned for the Galerie. While a number of them were of questionable quality, a few masterpieces, such as the Battle of Taillebourg by
Eugène Delacroix, were displayed here.
Battle of Austerlitz, 2 December 1805, oil on canvas, sketch after an original that in 1846 was in the Paillet collection, commissioned by Napoleon I for the ceiling of the salle du Conseil d'État at the
palais des Tuileries in Paris, showing Napoleon accompanied by
Jean Rapp, 9.58m by 5.10m
Battle of Rocroi, 19 May 1643, the
duc d'Enghien ordering his troops to stop fighting the Spanish, who have come to him to surrender. Artist : François Joseph Heim (1787–1865.)vers 1834, 4.65m by 5.43m
The
Grand Condé at the
battle of Lens, 20 August 1648, victory over the Spanish troops commanded by archduke Leopold. Circa 1835, Artist :
Jean-Pierre Franque (1774–1860). 4.65m by 5.43m
The
Battle of Fontenoy, 11 May 1745, showing
Maurice de Saxe presenting the captured British and Dutch prisoners and colours to
Louis XV and the
dauphin; Artist: Horace Vernet (1789–1863). Date:1828. 5.1m by 9.58m
Battle of Lawfeld, 2 July 1747 : Louis XV pointing out the village of Lawfeld to
Maurice de Saxe. Artist :
Pierre Lenfant (1704–1787). Period : reign of Louis XV (1723–1774). 2.75m by 2.5m
In 1978, Breton nationalists of the
Breton Revolutionary Army caused major damage to the Galerie[2] in planting a bomb. Having failed to plant one in the
Hall of Mirrors, they moved to the galerie des Batailles, targeting Napoleon as a symbol of French colonialism.