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Grand Palais Exhibits Louis XIV’s Savonnerie Carpets Together for the First Time in Paris
- Style Essentials Edit Team
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
The Grand Palais in Paris has presented 32 carpets commissioned under King Louis XIV, bringing together a group of works that had never previously been displayed in this scale and sequence. The exhibition, titled Le Trésor retrouvé du Roi-Soleil (The Rediscovered Treasure of the Sun King), examines the role of these carpets within the visual and political programme developed during the king’s reign.
The carpets were produced between 1668 and 1688 by the Savonnerie manufactory, the royal workshop responsible for some of the most important textile commissions of the French court. They were originally designed for the Grande Galerie du Louvre, a gallery measuring over 440 metres in length that connected the Louvre Palace with the Tuileries Palace.
The project formed part of a broader decorative programme directed by Charles Le Brun, the principal painter to Louis XIV. Le Brun oversaw multiple artistic disciplines, including painting, sculpture, furniture, and textiles. His work contributed to establishing a unified visual identity associated with the monarchy.
The Savonnerie carpets were conceived as a continuous sequence, placed along the length of the gallery. Their arrangement allowed visitors to move physically through the space while encountering successive images representing royal authority and symbolic references.
Each carpet contains symmetrical compositions built around a central axis. Figures, ornamental frameworks, and symbolic motifs are arranged in relation to this centre line. This organisation allowed the carpets to be visually experienced while walking along their length.
Iconographic elements include allegorical figures, architectural frameworks, and references drawn from classical mythology. Some designs incorporate imagery associated with Apollo, the Greco-Roman sun god. This association corresponded with Louis XIV’s adoption of solar symbolism during his reign.
The exhibition at the Grand Palais presents the carpets in chronological order, allowing differences in style to be observed across the twenty-year production period. Earlier examples show more rigid structural organisation, with decorative elements confined within defined borders. Later works demonstrate greater formal variation, with ornament extending beyond strict framing systems.
The carpets were produced using wool as the primary material. Their construction required specialised weaving techniques developed within the Savonnerie workshop. These techniques allowed the integration of figurative imagery and detailed ornamentation within the textile surface.
The largest carpet included in the exhibition measures approximately nine metres in length. This scale reflects the architectural context for which the carpets were designed.
Although 92 carpets were originally commissioned, they were never fully installed in their intended location. During the production period, Louis XIV relocated his court to the Palace of Versailles. As a result, the complete sequence was not displayed together as planned.
Over time, many carpets were moved, stored, or dispersed. Some entered museum collections, while others were given as diplomatic gifts. Several examples are now lost or survive only in fragments.
The exhibition at the Grand Palais represents the first time that such a large group from the original commission has been assembled and displayed together. The installation takes place beneath the building’s glass and steel dome, allowing sufficient space for the large textile works.
Due to conservation requirements, the exhibition is presented for a limited duration. Exposure to light is carefully controlled to preserve the condition of the carpets.
The exhibition has been organised by curators from French national collections in collaboration with international specialists in European decorative arts.
The display provides an opportunity to examine the carpets as part of a coordinated decorative programme developed during the reign of Louis XIV. The works illustrate the integration of textile production within broader artistic and architectural systems of the period.
Exhibition: Le Trésor retrouvé du Roi-Soleil
Venue: Grand Palais, Paris
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