Visitors to Versailles : from Louis XIV to the French Revolution /

Kisluk-Grosheide (a Met curator) and Rondot (Versailles conservateur en chef) organized the Visitors to Versailles (1682-1789) exhibition, and they edited this sumptuous companion catalogue. The catalogue comprises a substantial introduction detailing the historical and architectural phases of the château, and five sections, each comprising one to three scholarly essays (by different authors) that cover types of visitors (official diplomats or incognito monarchs, aristocratic tourists or local commoners), codes of dress, etiquette, and protocols. Each essay covers the span of time from the château's glorious advent under Louis XIV to its inglorious decline under Louis XVI, telling its story through firsthand visitors' comments in press articles, letters, diaries, and memoirs, as well as through portraits of the royal family and illustrious guests, paintings of interior and exterior scenes, and scenes of special receptions at the palace over the course of the century. What stands out throughout is how the Sun King's stratagem of aestheticized politics to better control his subjects turned Versailles into an industry of French luxury items that left an indelible mark on 17th- and 18th-century court societies in Europe and beyond. Summing Up: Recommended. All leveels. --Gaetano DeLeonibus, Willamette University