LONDON.- Exploring how the French monarchy harnessed scientific knowledge as a tool of power, Versailles: Science and Splendour will open at the Science Museum this December. The seat of royal power in France in the 17th and 18th centuries was renowned for its opulent palace and gardens, but it was also a cradle of scientific spirit. Developed with support from our expert advisor, the Palace of Versailles, the exhibition will reveal the meeting of art and science in the court as it showcases more than 100 fascinating objects, from the extravagant to the everyday, many of which have never been displayed in the UK before.

Versailles: Science and Splendour will explore how the monarchs Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI encouraged scientific pursuit and readily drew on technological advances of their times. It will show how scientific knowledge was used to enhance France's prestige and extend its influence. The exhibition will highlight significant figures, including stories of women in science, such as the pioneering midwife Madame du Coudray who trained thousands of midwives in rural France and Emilie du Châtelet, the eminent physicist and mathematician who translated Isaac Newton's Principia.

Anna Ferrari, Lead Curator of Versailles: Science and Splendour at the Science Museum, said: ‘We are delighted to be bringing Versailles to London in this new exhibition which invites visitors to discover an unusual but crucial side of the palace’s history and grandeur. This exhibition will reveal fascinating stories of science at Versailles through more than a hundred treasures, bringing new attention to the relationship between science and power.’

Christophe Leribault, President of the Palace of Versailles, said: ‘The Sciences and Curiosities at the Court of Versailles exhibition, held in 2010 at the Palace of Versailles, made a lasting impression. It unveiled a lesser-known aspect of life at the former royal residence: the interest in sciences and the spirit of curiosity and innovation that animated the sovereigns and the entire court. Through this revisited version of the exhibition, we take pride in the fact that our collections and expertise can now cross the Channel to meet visitors at the Science Museum, inspiring them to visit or revisit the Palace of Versailles.’

Sir Ian Blatchford, Director and Chief Executive of the Science Museum Group, said: ‘Science was at the heart of the French royal court, from the engineering innovations needed to build the regal seat of power to the lavish scientific demonstrations staged for the kings. We are able to share these remarkable stories with Science Museum visitors for the first time thanks to a close partnership with the Palace of Versailles. In strengthening such cultural connections with European partners, we will continue to inspire people with incredible stories of science and culture around the world.’

HARNESSING SCIENCE

Versailles: Science and Splendour will take visitors on a 120-year journey through the evolution of science at Versailles, from the creation of the Academy of Sciences by Louis XIV in 1666, to Louis XV’s passion for exquisite scientific instruments, and Louis XVI’s ordering of the La Pérouse expedition to the Pacific in 1785.

Measuring time and space was one of the key tasks of the Academy of Sciences, reflecting the challenges of the time in Europe. Members of the Academy mapped the Earth and the skies as visitors can observe in a 1679 map of the Moon by Cassini, the precision of which remained unrivalled for over 200 years. The promotion of France’s power through scientific developments also served political purposes, with exquisite instruments given as diplomatic gifts across the world.

The exhibition will also give visitors the opportunity to see the magnificent gardens of Versailles in a new light. Recruited by Louis XIV, Academicians and experts used mathematics and engineering to transform the site into a statement of power and prestige. Of particular importance for Louis XIV was the creation of spectacular fountains and water features in the grounds, which required hydraulic engineering projects of unprecedented scale. A painting of the monumental Marly Machine, which supplied Versailles’ fountains with water from the river Seine, will impress upon visitors the magnitude of Louis XIV’s grand ambitions.

UNDERSTANDING NATURE

France’s imperial reach enabled Versailles to become a centre for the scientific study of plants and animals from around the world. The exhibition will display this growing interest in zoology and the kings’ luxurious taste, which pushed for inventive botanic engineering to allow exotic fruits, like pineapples, to grow at Versailles.

Visitors will also be able to learn the surprising story of Louis XV’s rhinoceros, on display in the UK for the very first time. Gifted by a French governor in India, this rhinoceros was perhaps the Versailles menagerie’s most pampered and famous resident. Acquired by the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle in Paris during the revolution, it was dissected after its death in 1793, and has been held there for over two hundred years.

Versailles will also feature the medical advances supported by the kings. The royal family made precious contributions to these developments by submitting their own bodies to procedures. On display will be a scalpel designed specifically to operate on the Sun King, while the exhibition will cover the inoculation against smallpox which Louis XVI and his family underwent as soon as he ascended the throne.

Louis XV supported the training of midwives across France to reduce infant mortality and grow a populous and strong kingdom. Born outside the nobility, to a family of doctors, Madame du Coudray rose to prominence through her pioneering practical training of midwives. She employed sophisticated life-sized mannequins to demonstrate the mechanics of birth – part of the only surviving mannequin will be showcased in the exhibition. Madame du Coudray ultimately trained over 5,000 women, as well as physicians, across France.

EMBRACING KNOWLEDGE

Scientific culture became widespread and fashionable at the courts of Louis XV and Louis XVI, with members of the royal family and of the aristocracy educated in physics, mathematics and chemistry. Examples of Louis XV’s magnificent collection of instruments will be on display. Visitors will see a sophisticated and rare optical microscope made by the king's brilliant engineer, Claude-Siméon Passemant, which is also a work of art with its gilt bronze rococo stand by the Caffieri sculptors.

Jean-Antoine Nollet, tutor of physics and natural history to the royal children during Louis XV's reign, demonstrated principles of physics in sensational presentations at court. His air-pump, used to ‘make the invisible visible’, will be on display in the exhibition.

Visitors will also learn about Emilie du Châtelet, an exceptional physicist and mathematician. Her translation of Isaac Newton’s Principia Mathematica into French, with her own additional commentary, remains in use today.

From the heart of government at Versailles, science was used strategically to assert imperial power on the world stage. The exhibition will highlight technological developments in warfare and defence engineering, as well as the 1785 expedition of La Pérouse. Commissioned by Louis XVI, the expedition had a dual aim. It sought to establish trade connections around the Pacific as well as further scientific knowledge: mapping coastlines as yet uncharted by Europeans and collecting scientific data.

The exhibition will also interrogate the surprising role of science in Versailles’ taste for spectacle. The palace provided an influential platform for scientific figures to present their work, as well as for the kings to display their power through extraordinary demonstrations, such as the flight of Etienne Montgolfier’s hot-air balloon at Versailles in 1783. One of the most complex pieces of engineering of its time, Pendule de la Création du Monde, presented to Louis XV in 1754, will also be on display. This exquisite astronomical clock exemplifies the intersection of scientific interest and royal opulence, boasting Versailles’ splendour through mechanical wonder.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a new book, Versailles: Science and Splendour, edited by curator Anna Ferrari. Published by Scala, the book will delve further into the surprising stories of science at the royal French court.

Versailles: Science and Splendour will open at the Science Museum from Thursday 12 December 2024 to Monday 21 April 2025.