ilized for the glorification of the Grand
Monarch. A _Description_ of the chateau, officially printed in 1674,
gives us the key to the interpretation of the allegories. "As the Sun
is the device of the King, and poets represent the Sun and Apollo as
one, nothing exists in this superb dwelling that does not bear relation
to the Sun divinity."

The emblem of Apollo was in evidence everywhere; signs of the month
ornamented facades and walls; and inside the palace and out were
symbols of the seasons and the hours of the day. The King's apartment
bore on its ceiling and walls paintings depicting deeds of seven heroes
of Antiquity, supported by Louis' planet emblem. All the interior
decoration was Italian in style--marble wainscoting in window
embrasures, floors of marble, panels of marble, doors of repousse
bronze. The apartments of Anne of Austria and the Gallery of Apollo at
the Louvre offered the first examples in France of this decorative
style, and guided the artists at Versailles in making their plans.

Upon the Grand Apartments of the King and Queen alone, a dozen painters
were engaged between the years 1671 and 1680. Charles Lebrun directed
the artists, most of whom, be it said, were poor colorists. He himself
worked on the vault above the Stairway of the Ambassadors and in the
Hall of Mirrors. To imitate Italian works of art was at that time the
avowed ideal of French decorators. At Rome the King's purse paid the
expenses of a group of young artists who were allotted the task of
copying designs that were later evolved at Versailles. To some was
assigned the copying of ornaments made of metal, mosaic and inlay.
Others specialized on bronze and wood-carving designs. There were
painters who made only sketches of battle scenes and sieges. There
were sculptors on the King's staff of copyists, and goldsmiths, and
enamel workers. Flemish, Dutch, French, but principally Italian,
craftsmen were recruited from the art centers of Europe, "for the glory
of the King." At the Gobelin Tapestry Factory--a royal
establishment--the workers were directed by Charles Lebrun, who for
many years had been head of the "Royal Manufactory of Crown Furniture."

It was in the year 1677 that Louis XIV formally proclaimed Versailles
his residence and the seat of Government. It was for the purpose of
providing quarters for the Court and its attendants that Mansard was
commanded to enlarge the chateau. Versailles now became, in tr