Thursday 21 January 2016

Catafalque ambiance...

Le Roi Louis XIV est mort the king is dead exhibition Versailles
The first thing that greets the visitor at the 'the king is dead' exhibition is this both gorgeous and gloomy bier, as it would have been shown in the basilica of Saint-Denis in 1715...

La première chose que voit le visiteur à l'expo "le roi est mort" est ce superbe et en même temps lugubre catafalque...
Le Roi Louis XIV est mort the king is dead exhibition Versailles
Le Roi Louis XIV est mort the king is dead exhibition Versailles
Louis XIV Antoine Benoist
Portrait of Louis XIV at the age of 68 by Antoine Benoist, wax, glass, hair, lace, silk, velvet, 1705-1706.

Portrait de Louis XIV à l'âge de 68 ans par Antoine Benoist, cire, verre, cheveux, dentelle, soie, velours, 1705-1706.

14 comments:

Revrunner said...

Wow! What a proboscis!

Unknown said...

Great stuff Ciel, so full of atmosphere and mood, very lovely photographs, I particularly like the third one...he had a very striking profile I must say...

William Kendall said...

It's the hooded sculptures that really catch my eye.

Bob Crowe said...

I like the gloomy, hooded marble figures. More spooky than mournful.

Even le roi soleil had an expiration date.

Dave said...

Umm just right for a scary movie.

Halcyon said...

A bit creepy!

Lowell said...

My goodness! That is gloomy! I can hear sad organ music playing in the background.

Sharon said...

That will certainly put you in the right frame of mind to honor the dead king.

VP said...

Even more strange than yesterday, but quite interesting!

Wayne said...

Positively creepy. The wax bust is simply amazing.

Loree said...

It does look rather gloomy.

RedPat said...

Gloomy indeed!

EG CameraGirl said...

Gloomy yes, but I suspect it was a very sad time since very few of his subjects would have ever known another king. Hmmm.

PerthDailyPhoto said...

You captured super photos under difficult lighting Ciel, nice work.