While Versailles was primarily a royal residence and symbol of the French monarchy, it is often forgotten that it was also an imperial residence, for which Napoleon had ambitious plans. The conversion of the Palace did not go well, but the Grand Trianon and Petit Trianon were renovated and refurbished, and were used as a summer retreat from 1810 by the Emperor and his second wife, Empress Marie-Louise.

Louis-Philippe, who acceded to the throne in 1830 under the title King of the French, restored the Emperor’s name within the walls of Versailles by devoting to him a large section of the Historic Galleries, which opened in 1837, in a spirit of national reconciliation and celebration of “all the glories of France”.

As well as the elaborate Napoleonic furniture from the Estate of Trianon, Versailles is also home today to the leading collection of First Empire paintings and sculptures, the majority of them commissioned by the Emperor himself.

This comprehensive guide is full of lavish illustrations and helpful maps, and is divided into two parts: one devoted to Napoleon’s projects and a guide to the Estate of Trianon, the other to the collections in the Historic Galleries, from the Coronation Room to the Gallery of Coaches.

Edited by Frédéric Lacaille
with RMN-GP publishers, 2021
Size: 15.5 x 23 cm
Number of pages: 192

Language: French