Versailles: Science and Splendour – a 'blockbuster' exploration of 18th-century innovation
The show highlights how three French monarchs were fascinated with scientific research

Courtly life in 18th century Versailles is widely remembered as "a world of pure fantasy frolics", said Jonathan Jones in The Guardian.
Yet for all the excess and absolutism associated with the reigns of Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI, the three monarchs took an impressively "progressive lead" when it came to scientific research. Their patronage gave rise to many remarkable developments in engineering, natural science and medicine. This "glittering" exhibition at the Science Museum looks past the clichés surrounding Versailles, and illustrates how the palace was in fact a hive of experimentation and ingenuity: indeed, even the building and its grounds were "a technological achievement", its gardens full of "state of the art innovations". Featuring a wide array of exquisite objects, from drawings to machines and scientific equipment to taxidermy, this is a "blockbuster" of a show that should not be missed.
The rule of the last Bourbon kings coincided with "the elevation and systematisation" of science as a discipline, said Melanie McDonagh in The London Standard. Scientists sought – and often received – royal patronage, in the hope of presenting their discoveries at court. One such demonstration, commemorated in an illustration here, came courtesy of Étienne Montgolfier and his hot air balloon, which he tested before Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, filling its basket with "a rooster, a sheep and a duck" (thankfully, they survived the ordeal). "Wonderful pieces" abound: a "superlative" watch with a crystal face made for Marie Antoinette; "beautiful" zoological paintings; and a series of "stuffed anatomical dolls designed to demonstrate practical obstetrics". All speak of a moment when science "was allied with the decorative arts", rather than practised with dry functionality. It is enough to make the visitor rather "wistful".
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
There are certain points at which you could be forgiven for thinking that "France's kings were interested in science only when it could satisfy their megalomaniacal desires", said Alastair Sooke in The Telegraph. A "freakishly enormous" hydraulic system was designed to bring water uphill from the Seine to Versailles's fountains. It never worked. You can see Jean-Baptiste Oudry's paintings of pineapples grown there – the ultimate status symbol. And you can see Louis XV's stuffed rhinoceros too; in life, the pampered animal was fed on bread and given "moisturising oil massages". Altogether scarier is "a wickedly elongated curved scalpel" created to "rid Louis XIV of an anal fistula". The surgery was rehearsed on 75 impoverished test subjects, some of whom died; the surgeon was "so traumatised that he never operated again". Altogether, the show is "a blast" – a superb exhibition that is also "a masterclass in brilliant, concise storytelling".
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Test flight of orbital rocket from Europe explodes
Speed Read Isar Aerospace conducted the first test flight of the Spectrum orbital rocket, which crashed after takeoff
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump 'not joking' about unconstitutional 3rd term
Speed Read The president seems to be serious about seeking a third term in 2028
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Myanmar quake deaths rise as survivor search intensifies
speed read The magnitude-7.7 earthquake in central Myanmar has killed a documented 2,000 people so far, and left scores more trapped beneath rubble
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Following the Tea Horse Road in China
The Week Recommends This network of roads and trails served as vital trading routes
By The Week UK Published
-
Roast lamb shoulder with ginger and fresh turmeric recipe
The Week Recommends Succulent and tender and falls off the bone with ease
By The Week UK Published
-
Adolescence and the toxic online world: what's the solution?
Talking Point The hit Netflix show is a window into the manosphere, red pills and incels
By The Week Staff Published
-
Snow White: Disney's 'earnest effort to meet an impossible brief'
Talking Point Live-action remake of Disney classic is not the disaster it could have been – but where's the personality?
By The Week UK Published
-
Don McCullin picks his favourite books
The Week Recommends The photojournalist shares works by Daniel Defoe, Lesley Blanch and Roland Philipps
By The Week UK Published
-
6 breathtaking homes in capital cities
Feature Featuring a glass conservatory in Atlanta and a loft library in Boston
By The Week US Published
-
Playhouse Creatures: 'dream-like' play is 'lively, funny and sharp-witted'
Anna Chancellor offers a 'glinting performance' alongside a 'strong' supporting cast
By The Week UK Published
-
The CIA Book Club: 'entertaining and vivid' book explores a huge Cold War secret
The Week Recommends 'Gripping' narrative explores a covert smuggling operation across the Iron Curtain
By The Week UK Published