Translated Print Title:
[Principal View of the Water Theater in the Garden of Versailles]
Date(s):
1689
Engraver:
Vue principale du Théâtre d'eau dans le Jardin de Versailles
All Versailles was a stage. In the gardens, the fountains were the main actors and provided the spectacle—nowhere more so than in the Théâtre d’eau (Water Theater), where dozens of jets played simultaneously and took on various shapes. Conceived in 1671 by André Le Nôtre (1613–1700), this star attraction of Louis XIV’s Versailles fell into disrepair during the eighteenth century and was replaced by a waterless grove. Because the original configuration has proven impossible to reconstruct, today’s curators have commissioned a modern redesign, scheduled to open to the public in May 2015.
Princeton University Art Museum. Acquired by Princeton in 1886 in an exchange with the Bibliothèque nationale (Paris). John S. Pierson, Class of 1840, effected the exchange, recorded by the BN as “Double échangé” no. 907.