The Louvre and Versailles: The Evolution of the Proto-typical Palace in the Age of Absolutism

In tracing the evolution of the Louvre from fortress to palace and of Versailles from hunting domain to dynastic capital, Dr Tadgell’s detailed architectural analysis of many projects – external and internal, realised and unrealised – is set in the context of the development of the medieval monarchy towards absolutism, of the development of the medieval château towards precedents for the seat of absolutism, and of the effect of the French monarchy’s financial incontinence on the realisation...