In the year 1668, Louis XIV began his expansion of a small chateau into what we now know as the opulent Palace of Versailles.
Every surface and object in the palace was painstakingly designed and created by thousands of artists in the Royal Academy, led by the three head designers — Le Vau, Charles Le Brun, and Andre Le Notre — in order to create a palace fit for the Sun King and his court of almost 20,000.
Visitors can now explore the palace and see for themselves, the bed that the king once laid upon, the Hall of Mirrors where he used to hold elaborate parties, and be dazzled by every gilded door frame, carpet, and chair.
Recently, art director, photographer, and artist Malorie Shmyr visited Versailles and found herself completely enthralled by the objects that fill the palace — especially by the many chairs that can be found throughout the hundreds of rooms.
“Being engulfed in the opulence of Versailles left me trying to imagine what it would be like to live in a space where not one square inch was forgotten about.
I studied the every day objects in each room, imagining using them for their function instead of just an object on display.
I honed in on the elaborately detailed chairs because it was exciting to see a normally humble piece of furniture dressed to the nines!”
When Malorie returned home from her trip, she contacted me wanting to find a place to share the photos that she took of Versailles’ version of this every day object. Check out the details that she captured in the images below.
See more of Malorie’s amazing work on her website or on Instagram @malorieshmyr.
