Friday 5 January 2018

The Oval Cabinet

The cabinet was created with one purpose in mind: creating a suitable passage between the king's collections. Before, a small hallway had stood in its place but it was soon replaced. The room is designed so that every side has either a door/window or a niche. The three doors leads into the Cabinet des Tableaux, the Small Gallery and the Cabinet of the Shells while the window offers a view of the Cour des Bains. The niches were bound together by Corinthian pillars gilded in gold; the walls were painted white.

The four niches each contain a bronze sculpture. Two are French, two are Italian - all depicts characters from Roman mythology including Juno and Jupiter. The other two depicts Proserpine and Orythia; both are presently on display in the salon of the grand couvert.
However, the centre piece is a miniature of the equestrian statue of Louis XIV by Girardon. 





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