Pierre Le Grand : Un Tsar En France, 1717

Exhibition at the Château de Versailles, 30 May - 24 September 2017

A warrior monarch and traveller, Peter the Great travelled the world for nearly four decades, from the White Sea to the Caspian Sea, from Holland to Moldavia, from England to Persia. He made two long voyages to Western Europe, the first in 1697-1698, the second twenty years later, in 1716-1717.

During this second trip, Pierre stayed in France for two months, from April to June 1717. Two years after the death of Louis XIV, he discovered the most populous kingdom in the West, met the young Louis XV, negotiated with the regent Philippe d'Orléans, and met statesmen, scientists, technicians and artists. Driven by a universal curiosity, Pierre visited palaces and factories, fortifications and libraries, churches and academies. On foot or by carriage, he strolled through the streets of Paris and toured the royal houses of the Île-de-France: Versailles, Trianon, Marly, Saint-Germain and Fontainebleau. Peter I and his retinue acquired books, works of art and scientific instruments, which they brought back to Russia along with diplomatic gifts from the French government.

This exhibition catalogue commemorates the tercentenary of this voyage in 1717, a meeting of an old kingdom and a new empire, a true founding act of cultural exchanges between Russia and France.