My Favorite Sculptures at Château de Versailles

Château de Versailles, in the outskirt of Paris, was most renown for its sumptuousness of the palace and the grandeur of its formal garden. It was in the vast expanse of the garden, that I encountered quite a few very striking sculptures and amongst those, I cite two of my favorites.

The first one is the Apollo Fountain, Bassin de Apollo, in the middle of the lower garden, at one end of the Grand Canal de Versailles.  Golden and splendid, Apollo, in his noble horses drawn chariot, emerged from a large glittering pond, energetic, dynamic and utterly godlike. 



When I went down to the same level of the pond and viewed the fountain sculpture from the side, its perfect combination of stunning beauty, elegance and strength, against the backdrop of the rich woods, were simply breathtaking:





My other favorite sculpture was one of the reclining river gods in the Water Parterres. The resting god, in contrast to the joyous white gold of Apollo, was all dark somberness and was the personification of regality and power, yet not without paternal warmth, with his somewhat forbidding image softened by the naughty winged children playing at his feet.

The Apollo was the shining prince and this river god was the mighty sovereign.





It was worthy of the trip just to see the amazing garden and the sculptures in Versaille.

My Favorite Museum Collection Series

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List of My Favorite Artworks in the Museums I've Visited

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