Gardens of Versailles in the context of "Versailles"

Baroque sculpture is the sculpture associated with the Baroque style of the period between the early 17th and mid 18th centuries. In Baroque sculpture, groups of figures assumed new importance, and there was a dynamic movement and energy of human forms—they spiralled around an empty central vortex, or reached outwards into the surrounding space. Baroque sculpture often had multiple ideal viewing angles, and reflected a general continuation of the Renaissance move away from the relief to sculpture created in the round, and designed to be placed in the middle of a large space—elaborate fountains such as Gian Lorenzo Bernini‘s Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Rome, 1651), or those in the Gardens of Versailles were a Baroque speciality. The Baroque style was perfectly suited to sculpture, with Bernini the dominating figure of the age in works such as Ecstasy of Saint Theresa (1647–1652). Much Baroque sculpture added extra-sculptural elements, for example, concealed lighting, or water fountains, or fused sculpture and architecture to create a transformative experience for the viewer. Artists saw themselves as in the classical tradition, but admired Hellenistic and later Roman sculpture, rather than that of the more "Classical" periods as they are seen today.

Baroque sculpture followed Renaissance and Mannerist sculpture and was succeeded by Rococo and Neoclassical Sculpture. Rome was the earliest centre where the style was formed. The style spread to the rest of Europe, and especially France gave a new direction in the late 17th century. Eventually it spread beyond Europe to the colonial possessions of the European powers, especially in Latin America and the Philippines.

Versailles (/vɛərˈsaɪ, vɜːrˈsaɪ/ vair-SY, vur-SY, French: [vɛʁsɑj] ) is a commune in the department of the Yvelines, Île-de-France, known worldwide for the Château de Versailles and the gardens of Versailles, which is designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Located in the western suburbs of the French capital, 17.1 km (10.6 mi) from the centre of Paris, Versailles is a wealthy suburb of Paris with a service-based economy and is a major tourist destination. According to the 2017 census, the population of the city is 85,862, down from a peak of 94,145 in 1975.

A new town founded by order of King Louis XIV, Versailles was the de facto capital of the Kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789, before becoming the cradle of the French Revolution. After having lost its status as a royal city, it became the préfecture (regional capital) of the Seine-et-Oise département in 1790, then of Yvelines in 1968. It is also a Roman Catholic diocese.

The French formal garden, also called the jardin à la française (French for 'garden in the French manner'), is a style of "landscape" garden based on symmetry and the principle of imposing order on nature. Its epitome is generally considered to be the Gardens of Versailles designed during the 17th century by the landscape architect André Le Nôtre for Louis XIV and widely copied by other European courts.

Classicism was also expressed in horticulture. Jean-Baptiste de La Quintinie introduced an art of fruit pruning and bedding techniques that were to have a lasting impact on production gardens. But the term ‘classical garden’ was only used for pleasure gardens.

André Le Nôtre (French pronunciation: [ɑ̃dʁe lə notʁ]; 12 March 1613 – 15 September 1700), originally rendered as André Le Nostre, was a French landscape architect and the principal gardener of King Louis XIV of France. He was the landscape architect who designed the gardens of the Palace of Versailles; his work represents the height of the French formal garden style, or jardin à la française.

Prior to working on Versailles, Le Nôtre collaborated with Louis Le Vau and Charles Le Brun on the park at Vaux-le-Vicomte. His other works include the design of gardens and parks at Bicton Park Botanical Gardens, Chantilly, Fontainebleau, Saint-Cloud and Saint-Germain. His contribution to planning was also significant: at the Tuileries in Paris he extended the westward vista, which later became the Avenue des Champs-Élysées within the Axe historique.

Le Bassin d'Apollon (The Apollo Basin), also called the Fountain of Apollo or the Apollo Fountain, is a fountain in the Gardens of the Palace of Versailles, France. Charles Le Brun designed the centerpiece depicting the Greek god Apollo rising from the sea in a four-horse chariot. A pond was dug on the site of the fountain in 1639 called "The Pond of the Swans". When King Louis XIV had it enlarged in 1671, the pond's east–west orientation and the common association of the King with Apollo prompted Le Brun to suggest dedicating the site to Apollo. The dawn theme was popular at the time and appears on some painted ceilings in European palaces. The fountain was constructed between 1668 and 1671.