press RELEASE Louis xiv / nicolas fouquet A certain history of taste virtual exhibition Versailles, 21 st April 2015

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1 Versailles, 21 st April 2015 press RELEASE Louis xiv / nicolas fouquet A certain history of taste virtual exhibition The palace of versailles and the Palace of vaux-le-vicomte have joined forced for the production of a virtual exhibition, the first of its kind. published online on 21 st april 2015, it has been developed thanks to the technology of the google cultural institute. The exhibition offers a fresh look at louis xiv and nicolas fouquet, two powerful men that have both too often been set against each other by history, omitting the things that united them, most notably their artistic and aesthetic influences. The exhibition in figures: 50 visuals including: - 25 works - 14 photos - 4 streetview files - 8 audio files - 3 videos Exhibition available in French and English Published online on: 21 st April 2015 Exhibition curators: - Mathieu da Vinha, Scientific Director of the Palace of Versailles Research Centre. - Lynda Frenois, Manager of the Palace of Vaux-le-Vicomte and its collections. As, in 2015, Vaux-le-Vicomte celebrates the 400 th anniversary of the birth of Nicolas Fouquet ( ), and Versailles the 300 th anniversary of the death of Louis XIV ( ), the two palaces wanted to jointly create an exhibition offering different perspectives of these two men who demonstrated their taste for the arts and artists with force and ambition throughout their lives, and in particular in the construction of their respective residences. Mathieu da vinha and lynda frenois, the curators, designed the project like a physical exhibition. Through the 4 sections covering architecture, interior decoration, gardens art and artists, visitors discover the things that separated or united Louis XIV and Fouquet in their artistic tastes. Very high-definition images of venues and works are complemented by audio and video content and modules from Google Street View, immersing visitors in certain spaces of Versailles and Vaux-le-Vicomte. For the first time since the launch of google cultural institute, two cultural institutions have come together for a virtual exhibition. For this, Google Cultural Institute has designed extensions to the service developed initially. This type of approach, now made technically possible, allows the design of exceptional exhibitions bringing together works that are dispersed, sometimes cannot be transported, or are never loaned by the institutions that have them.

2 2 about Google cultural institute press contacts the palace of Versailles Press service (0) Vaux-le-Vicomte Agence Vianova Fiona Sala (0) Google cultural institute Marie Tanguy (0) Created in may 2011, Google cultural institute is a platform that offers access in just a few clicks to works of art, monuments and archive exhibitions. The content is selected by more than 700 partners of Google, including museums as well as cultural institutions and associations. The Cultural Institute's objective is to preserve and promote the cultural heritage of different partners by making it accessible to everyone for free, thanks to Internet technology. For more information: online exhibitions the google cultural institute teams have developed a technology that allows its partners very simply to create high-quality virtual exhibitions focusing on images, sounds and videos (depending on the content of the exhibition). Originally created to promote and give context to archive documents, these virtual exhibitions are now used by partners to offer Internet users a wealth of varied content, augmented by multiple types of visuals. for more information twitter.com/cversailles plus.google.com/+chateauversailles Chateauversailles instagram.com/chateauversailles Photos Souvenir flickr.com/groups/versaillesfamille youtube.com/chateauversailles Versailles Media media.chateauversailles.fr for more information Château de Vaux-le- Vicomte twitter.com/chateauvlv Château de Vaux le Vicomte com/ / videos The Palace of versailles and google Google and the Palace of Versailles first became partners in 2009 with the online publication of a walk through the Palace gardens and estate using Street View. The Palace was later the very first French museum to join Google Art Project in 2010, and then took part in the World Wonders Project in 2012 which aimed to reveal the wonders of the modern world and Antiquity. The gallery of the history of the Palace was opened in 2012 thanks to this new technological partnership. Lastly, the Palace of Versailles created two virtual exhibitions with Google Cultural Institute in 2013: Louis XIV, the construction of a political image, and Immortalising Versailles. They have had over 2 million views to date. Developing specific digital content contributes to helping as many people as possible discover 'Versailles from a different angle', one which is new and sometimes unexpected. about Vaux-le-Vicomte for the construction of the palace of Vaux-le-Vicomte Louis Le Vau, Charles Le Brun and André Le Nôtre achieved major feats of imagination and used the cutting-edge technology of the 17 th century. Today, the Palace continues to use technological innovations to spread its influence across the globe, thanks notably to its partnership with Google: - Since march 2014 the exhibition titled Vaux-le-Vicomte, un chef-d œuvre pas à pas has enabled internet users to discover the key stages of the estate's construction, from 1641 to Viewers can consult exceptional archive documents in an 'immersive' mode, including plans, illustrations of the time and watercolours. - the palace also proposes, via Google Street View, a stroll from your own home around the palace interior and the work that laid the foundations for the French-style formal garden. chateauvlv instagram.com/chateauvlv Château de Vaux le Vicomte VauxleVicomteTV Pinterest

3 3 louis xiv - nicolas fouquet a certain history of taste Both men of their time, the Sun King and the Superintendent of Finances were forged by the same cultural and artistic influences, such as the undeniable impact of Cardinal Mazarin. The latter, Prime Minister and Godfather to the King, was a key example for both. He was an art lover, collector, patron and promoter of Italian Baroque art in France. Men of the 17 th century, Louis XIV and Fouquet were nonetheless visionary, both personally involved in their construction projects and establishing genuine relationships with the artists working on them. Their dwellings were expected to faithfully reflect their ambition and symbolise their power and authority. They had to dazzle and entertain those who visited them. Louis XIV and Fouquet were both keenly aware of the advantages of supporting and protecting artists who could contribute to their glory. in 1661, Louis XIV was impressed by the Palace of Vaux-le-Vicomte belonging to Nicolas Fouquet, the Superintendent of Finances. For the construction of the Palace of Versailles he naturally turned towards the three artists who built Vaux: Louis Le Vau, Charles Le Brun and André Le Nôtre. The two palaces are therefore intimately linked and, although on different scales, there are a lot of similarities in their decoration, interior architecture and gardens. They are both emblematic of French taste.

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