Question

Explain the effect Versailles would have had on a visitor from another country and the impression it would have given of Louis XIV.

Answer 1

Since Louis XIV built Versailles in order to keep his noblemen and his officers, as well as the aristocracy, under his control, it would have projected an image of his absolutism, that is to say, of his complete and absolute power over all his French subjects. This was emphasized through the opulent and symbolic decoration - its gardens and fountains, its Grand Gallery, its apartments, its silver furniture, and its various allegorical paintings and statues, among other elements.  

Versailles was also meant to cause astonishment among the monarchs and ambassadors who visited the King there, and who returned to their countries with a strong and firm desire to emulate it. A visitor to Versailles would have certainly been stunned at the sight and the experience of this superb space.