Louis Xv À Fontainebleau La Demeure Des Rois Au Temps Des Lumières

Exhibition at the Château de Fontainebleau, 2 April - 4 July 2016

King Louis XV stayed in Fontainebleau almost every autumn from 1724 until his death in 1774 and was responsible for many embellishments. Numerous events took place there, including his wedding in 1725 with Marie Leszczyńska.

Through 140 works - architectural projects, paintings and sculptures, works of art, furniture, decors, hunting journals -, and after a first chapter on the king's wedding, this exhibition catalogue studies the many evolutions in Fontainebleau under Louis XV's reign: architectural transformations set aside to house the court and to improve the movement in the castle, revised and up-to-date interior decors, furniture increased with sumptuous pieces.

The book studies then the king's table in the Petits Appartements where was gathered a refined society, the spectacles given almost every night in the Salle de la Comédie, hunting, and the apartments of the king's mistresses, Madame de Pompadour and Madame du Barry.