Discover how the Palace of Versailles used science as a tool of power in this illuminating new exhibition.
The Palace of Versailles is famous around the world for its opulent architecture and rich history. In the 17th and 18th centuries, it also became a major site of scientific thinking. Opening this December, Versailles: Science and Splendour will explore the important role science played at the Palace. The exhibition will reveal the meeting of art and science in the court as it showcases more than 100 fascinating objects, from the extravagant to the everyday, many of which have never been displayed in the UK before.
Versailles: Science and Splendour will explore how the monarchs Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI encouraged scientific pursuit and readily drew on technological advances of their times. It will show how scientific knowledge was used to enhance France's prestige and extend its influence. The exhibition will highlight significant figures, including stories of women in science, such as the pioneering midwife Madame du Coudray who trained thousands of midwives in rural France and Emilie du Châtelet, the eminent physicist and mathematician who translated Isaac Newton's Principia.
Visitors will be transported on a 120-year journey through the evolution of science at Versailles, from the creation of the Academy of Sciences by Louis XIV in 1666, to Louis XV’s passion for exquisite scientific instruments, and Louis XVI’s ordering of the La Pérouse expedition to the Pacific in 1785. Measuring time and space was one of the key tasks of the Academy of Sciences, reflecting the challenges of the time in Europe. Members of the Academy mapped the Earth and the skies as visitors can observe in a 1679 map of the Moon.
The exhibition will also give visitors the opportunity to see the magnificent gardens of Versailles in a new light. Recruited by Louis XIV, Academicians and experts used mathematics and engineering to transform the site into a statement of power and prestige by Cassini, the precision of which remained unrivalled for over 200 years.
France’s imperial reach enabled Versailles to become a centre for the scientific study of plants and animals from around the world. The exhibition will display this growing interest in zoology and the kings’ luxurious taste, which pushed for inventive botanic engineering to allow exotic fruits, like pineapples, to grow at Versailles.
The exhibition will also interrogate the surprising role of science in Versailles’ taste for spectacle including the Pendule de la Création du Monde, presented to Louis XV in 1754 which will be on display. This exquisite astronomical clock exemplifies the intersection of scientific interest and royal opulence, boasting Versailles’ splendour through mechanical wonder.
Versailles: Science and Splendour will open at the Science Museum from Thursday 12 December 2024 to Monday 21 April 2025.
Tickets to Versailles: Science and Splendour are £12. Ages 11 and under go free.
Tickets on general sale from 18 July 2024 - visit Events | Science Museum
For further information: Versailles: Science and Splendour | Science Museum
Expert Advisor: Palace of Versailles